Law of Nature
by moonlightBuffy
Summary: PostX3. PyroRogue, RogueBobby, RogueWolverine. Nothing is permanent. 14 out of ? is up
1. You can't fight nature

**Title: **Law of Nature  
**Rating**: R - eventually.  
**Summary: **Nothing is permanent. Post-X3:  
**Author's Note**: This is my VERY long fic I've been mentioning in another fic I made. Basically, I felt that there were some plots that could've been used, or can be used, in the movies that we have yet to see. Most of these invovle Rogue, and since there were so little of her in the third movie I felt it was a perfect chance to make one about her and what I see can be in store for her. Feedback is complete love. Somethings I've gathered from information about the comics, but almost everything is from the movies.  
**Pairings:** Rogue/Pyro, Rogue/Bobby, Rogue/Wolverine, Mystique/Magneto, Magneto/Xavier (vibes), Bobby/Pyro (vibes)

_CHAPTER ONE - YOU CAN'T FIGHT NATURE.  
_

Marie lay soundlessly asleep in her bed. It was nice, being able to touch people again. In fact, ever since she was cured, she'd made a point to touch people as much as possible. She didn't go around hugging everyone, but just some small touching here and there. Borrowing clothes from the other girls and exposing herself a little bit more than what she used to, something that people might think was cliché and annoying but Marie saw it as her sign of independence.

She rolled a little in her sleep, comforted in feeling Bobby's body next to hers - soundlessly asleep as well. In her sleep, Marie put her hand on Bobby's stomach, sighed and continued to dream.

When she woke up, the sun shone through the window and the promise of a good morning once again filled her. That was until she heard someone cough. It wasn't a 'I have a cold' cough or a 'I got some dust in my lungs' cough, it was a bad one. Marie turned to her side and saw Bobby coughing for dear life, looking oddly pale.

"Bobby..." She felt worry, but she couldn't understand - why would...

Suddenly Bobby almost sprinted off the bed, sitting himself on the floor and Marie watched in horror as the coughing lessened. Either he was allergic to her or... No, that was impossible. No way. They said that...

"Bobby," she said finally, "Are you okay?"

Bobby looked up at Marie, meeting her eyes and she could see they were filled with sadness. All hope and promise once again drained from them as it had been before. Marie felt a panic and images of Kitty and Bobby ice-skating filled her mind.

"Bobby, it's not what you think! They said that it would be-"

"I know, they _thought_ it would be permanent, Rogue." he said gently, completely calm.

Marie suddenly wondered why he was so calm. She herself was practically vivid, but he seemed as if he had expected this, or in some way, hoped for it. She looked at him, trying to study him, hoping that Xavier was alive or that she had his ability.

"You seem pretty calm about this." Marie stated the fact, and the silence told her everything she needed to know.

------

Logan walked down to the Danger Room, he needed a good workout. Sounds of someone running made him stop and turn around. Marie was running down to him, her eyes red of crying and Logan felt sorry for whatever was causing her pain.

"Marie, are you alright?" he asked.

Marie stopped, looking rather pale, and then a tear fell down her cheek. She shook her head and looked down on the ground. "It didn't work," she whispered, her whole heart behind that statement, her voice filled with emotion.

Logan studied her, genuinely sorry for her fate, but he couldn't think of any words of comfort, because he hadn't a clue how she was feeling. He walked up to her, out of habit reaching out to touch her shoulder, but Marie pulled away.

"Don't," she warned, her eyes hard and her voice as well, but the watery eyes told him of the broken heart inside.

Logan backed down, raising his hands to prove a point. The momentary look of disappointment did not pass him and Logan wondered what he did wrong.

"I eh... need to go," Marie said, turning around quickly, quickly walking with shaky legs.

"Marie..."

"My name's Rogue," she said sadly as she walked away.

------

It took Bobby a good while to locate her, she was sitting under the stairwell, crying. He saw people walk past her but noticed that no one stopped to ask what was wrong. He walked up to her, not sure what to expect. He wasn't afraid of her; he hadn't for a good while. But he knew how much she wanted to be what people called normal. He also knew that since she was human, she technically shouldn't be at the school, but since she had no where else to go, Storm had accepted to have her there.

"Hey," Bobby said, sitting down next to her, watching her turn away from him, "I've been looking all over for you."

"So?" Marie's voice was sharp, angry, as she wiped a few tears away.

Bobby sighed. Marie was a strong girl, but he didn't know how to reach her when she pulled away like this. Even though he loved her so much, he'd never seen her cry before - maybe cry because she was angry, but not because she was broken.

"Is there something I can do?" he finally said, finally catching her attention.

Marie looked up at him, her eyes glistering with hope, but it soon faded and she turned her eyes back to her kneecaps. "Forget it," she said, sighing unhappy, "There's nothing no one can do any more."

------------

Erik looked down on the chess table, once again moving the pieces with his mind. Wonderful that they were made out of metal. He felt joy, when he had first learned that his powers were back. Incredible joy, but then later, regret. How he had pushed Mystique away... When it hadn't been permanent. He suspected that she would've understood, if it had happened to someone else. He also knew of her betrayal but that mattered little. He had suspected as much.

He was happy that he wasn't behind bars. The government had seen him as a non-existent threat and told him that he was free, he suspected also that there were people that sympathized with his struggle but that was another insignificant detail that he didn't want to bother with afterthought.

The pawn moved, and Magneto felt as if even though his powers were still basic, that they were under a greater control than before, since he knew how his powers worked, and the reappearance of them were a surprise, but it was one that he soon overcame.

He sat here every day, moving his pawns, kings and queens. Practising, remembering. He felt a great deal of sorrow that Charles was dead. He'd never wanted that. Ever. They have had different views on his war entirely, and even though Charles viewed him as a threat, they still had that common ground that deep friendship gave.

------

Logan knocked on the door to Marie's room. Softly at first, not hearing a word inside, but soon the sound of a lock turning notified him that someone was inside. To his big surprise, Bobby was the one that opened the door. Logan's first instinct was to growl and ask what the fuck he was doing there, but he resisted and walked through the doorway, not waiting for an invite.

"Where's Marie?" Logan asked, looking around Marie's room, seeing things all in a mess.

Bobby paused for a moment, as if he was unaccustomed that people called Marie for her real name. "She took a walk. She needed to think about things."

Logan turned around, looking at Bobby, smirking slightly. "What? She didn't bring you along too?"

Bobby sighed and didn't reply. Logan was quite pleased that he didn't, right now he was on a sarcastic roll – if someone told him that Scott had risen from the dead, he probably would've made a good joke out of it. Also, there was a slight guilt inside Logan, nagging him.

He hadn't given Marie any proper attention for months and he had after all promised to take care of her, even though she was practically an adult now, she still needed someone to care for her. He'd seen the pain she was going through earlier in the day and the voice she'd used when she changed her name back to Rogue again haunted him and pushed away any other thoughts from his mind.

Also, he couldn't help but wonder if Marie really would've gone to try and get her mutation away if he had told her not to. It seemed as if she was throwing him strings but he just didn't climb them.

"Like I said," Bobby said, "She's not here."

Logan was pulled from his thoughts and stared at Bobby. Oh. Apparently he'd been here a little bit longer than wanted. Oh well, what can one do? Logan threw an excuse over his shoulder as he walked through the door, pretty sure he didn't even mean it.

-----

Marie felt strangely empty. Others people's thoughts began to come back to her head, not as strong as before, but definitely there. She wondered how long her powers had been there, she hadn't felt them coming nor did they wake up with a start. It was as if they had been sleeping for a long time and was slowly beginning to come back.

Marie touched a rock not far away. It was quite interesting, she had wanted to have her powers removed but now she felt rather… calm about it. That was just grief, she guessed. You screamed, you cried, you moved on. She felt as if she had more control over it now. Maybe it was because her powers were still asleep but she had managed to touch Logan earlier in the day, and he hadn't even reacted. Maybe, if she gave it enough thought, she could control them.

The idea was absurd but it filled Marie with some sort of strange hope. She guessed she could ask Storm later if it was possible. She guessed that most people knew by now that the cure didn't work.

Mental images of Kitty throwing herself at Bobby entered her mind for probably the eight hundredth time that afternoon. She loved Bobby and she knew he cared for her, but the temptation could be too great, she knew it. Like she said before, he was a guy; he only had one thing on his mind even if he didn't mean to. Before she had probably been the ultimate prize, something untouchable and something so no one could have. She'd been forbidden fruit, but now the aftershocks of having a girlfriend that you couldn't touch were beginning to show.

Marie sighed. Apparently it was true that you couldn't fight nature, even though Marie hoped with her whole being that it was possible.

--------


	2. In & Out of the Woods

**Title: **Law of Nature

**Rating:** R

**Pairings: **Rogue/Pyro/Iceman with hints of other pairings.

**Author's Note:** Thank you all of you, for your wonderful reviews. Please keep them coming. I love getting them and they give me such inspiration. This is the second chapter in my story. Some mentioned too little Pyro, but that was because well… he isn't becoming a major player until later. This chapter is – hopefully – just as intense as the past and I hope you'll enjoy it.

* * *

_CHAPTER TWO: IN AND OUT OF THE WOODS_

Rogue kicked the other mutant hard, feeling the power and ability absorb her, adding to her wrath. The quick speed and strength proved to be great help in this fight, and she soon seemed to be in control of the situation, until another mutant joined the fight against her. Their thoughts filled her head, but she didn't care. All she cared was to see blood.

She'd chosen a practise level above her ability, but she figured that it would be the best practise. Practise with someone on her own level was rarely a challenge. She felt a sharp pain in her stomach and she saw small pools of blood drip, but filled with adrenalin, she didn't stop to think twice about it.

Suddenly everything faded, and the pain of her wound appeared, she held her stomach to stop the blood flow. She groaned a little and wondered what the fuck had happened. She then saw Logan standing there, looking at her, partly angry and partly worried.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Logan said, his voice trembling with anger, "Trying to get yourself killed?"

Rogue ignored him, trying to ignore his presence and thought that she probably should go and get this wound checked. She heard Logan go on and on how the higher levels could wound you pretty seriously and she felt like she'd heard all this before.

"Dammit, Marie," Logan said after a while, "This is serious."

He moved to touch her shoulders but Rogue pulled away. "Rogue," she hissed.

Logan glared at her and Rogue knew that even though she knew him better than anyone that he still was some what of a mystery. Of course, since they could relate to each other (or at least know each other as well) as they did, they could annoy the hell out of each other.

_Past tense, Rogue, past tense._ Rogue thought sadly, _You two haven't had a serious talk in ages._

"You know what, if you wanna be a kid," Logan said, "That's fine. But don't go and do something stupid like this," he looked at the wound, probably wishing he could heal it but Rogue wouldn't let him, and he knew it.

"Since when did you have the right to tell me what to do?" Rogue hissed, not really hearing how angry she sounded. Right now she had a hell of a headache, she was bleeding, perhaps not much but still and everything was just… to hell. She could hear Logan, Bobby and everyone she'd ever touched in her head. It hurt and the violence that anger and pain brought out seemed so… tempting.

Logan didn't say anything, looking hurt at what she was telling him, but Rogue told herself she didn't care. Every time she needed him to be there, he let her down. Logan's eyes were filled with things he wanted to say, but since he were who he was, he was unable to speak them out loud. Rogue knew but sometimes knowing without hearing was too painful and not nearly enough.

Rogue limped out of the Danger Room, making a point by pushing herself past Logan, hitting him sharply in the stomach as she passed, with her clothed arm. She knew it didn't hurt him, at least not physically.

-------

"I'm telling you, Storm," Logan groaned a few days later, "We need to do something. Now. Marie isn't feeling well. She's a fucking train wreck."

Storm looked sympathetically at Logan, but with some emotion holding her back from fully expressing emotion. "There's not much we can do, if she doesn't want our help, Logan. You know that."

Logan growled, usually he only did it because of pain but now he wanted to went some of that frustration and growling was the only way if he weren't allowed to kill something.

"So, what? We are just going to wait till she kills herself? She could've killed herself in the Danger Room and she's been having headaches now almost around the clock. We have no idea how she's dealing with all of this… The people in her head…"

Storm looked confused. "People in her head? She can absorb people's energy, that I know, but not much else."

Logan then went on telling Storm about the conversation that he and Marie had years ago on the train station and what Xavier had told him about Marie's powers. Storm did not express much emotion, but merely nodded at times, but he could guess that she was beginning to grow concerned herself.

"I was just remembering something…" Storm said, clearly following some thought train this information had started, "If Marie has her powers back, doesn't that mean that Magneto and Mystique…"

Storm didn't need to say anything more. Wolverine knew where she was going. Even though the threat from humans still was there, it was smaller than before, since Magneto seemed to have disappeared along with most of his other followers, there among Pyro.

"Magneto betrayed Mystique, there's a small chance she'll go back to him," Logan said, trying to ease Storm's concern and try to steer the conversation back to Marie – a matter he was much more concerned about. "And Magneto… well, he's bound to loose ground since he disappeared from the mutant radar. I doubt no one will know that his powers are back."

"But he could use pretty much any reason to start a war again," Storm continued, "Merely because he lost power doesn't mean he's not a threat. The peace that we worked so hard to get…"

"Is still fragile," Logan concluded, trying to speed things up so they'd get to a point, "I bet Magneto knows that, even though he hasn't been considered to be a mutant for a while. He probably thought himself as a neutered cat."

Storm sighed. "Well, let's just hope for your sake that no one knows of these developments and that no one does anything stupid – like looking for him."

However, somewhere in New York, Erik closed the door to his small apartment. He felt as if he was ready soon. The matters of humans were no longer of much consequence at the moment but he had a small vengeance to play before concerning himself with anything else. As the door was closed, Magneto sensed something. Call it a sixth sense of sorts but he knew that he wasn't alone.

He walked to the living room but before he could enter he saw a flash of fire and a young man stood before him. Magneto felt a grin come across his face.

_Soon, he'd have everything he needed._

-------

"Rogue!" Bobby ran after her, as she walked across the lawn on the other side.

She didn't notice him, or she plainly ignored him. He had no idea why she was angry with him, she'd just woken up and ignored him. She walked past the main building and the fountain and to the graves, apparently seeking sometime alone.

Bobby followed, continuing to call her name. Finally she stopped dead in her tracks, almost making Bobby crash into her since she gave no notice when she'd stopped. "What?" She snapped, glaring at him with an anger Bobby had never seen before.

The harshness shocked him and momentarily pulled Bobby from balance. There were few people who were so angry at him and he could not imagine Rogue to be one of them. He took a breath, breathing slightly from the run.

"Wait up," Bobby said lamely, "I wanted to talk to you."

Rogue shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't care and looked past his shoulder. "So talk," she stood in a provoking position that drove Bobby slightly insane.

Bobby sighed. "What's up with you lately? You aren't acting like yourself."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Well, if you can't hack it I'm sure that you could always go and talk to _Kitty_ about it. You two are such good friends, aren't you?" The sarcasm was dripping from like a fountain.

"Is that what this is about?" Bobby sighed again, slightly relieved. "I've told you. I don't care about Kitty. I care about you, Rogue. You're my girl."

Rogue snorted. "Yeah, and what a girlfriend I am. The freak that even can't touch you without killing you."

Even though she spoke fiercely Bobby could feel the sadness beneath the words, stabbing him in his heart. He wanted to say how much he cared about her but the words weren't enough. Something must've seemed offensive because it was as if Rogue switched a button. She looked angrier than before.

"Rogue… I… I don't care about that. I care about you," His words sounded defeated, he had said this so many times that he wondered if Rogue actually believed them. "Even if I can't touch you."

"Whatever," Rogue rolled her eyes again and started to walk away. Leaving Bobby standing there. Alone. "Whatever you say."

"Rogue!"

She turned around, standing in front of Xavier's grave. "Shut up, Bobby!"

A cold shill spread through Bobby's body as the fire from Xavier's grave grew to the size of a giant wall behind her in a matter of a second and then faded back to its original form.

Something wasn't right with Rogue.

-------

Logan lay on his bed, thinking about things as there was a knock on his door. Logan looked surprised at first at the door, as if he was just imagining things. He then finally rushed to the door, hoping that it was Rogue – he needed to talk to her. But as he opened the door he saw Bobby standing there.

"Iceman," Logan said surprised, "What are you doing here?"

Bobby stood by the door, glaring at Logan as if he was trying to glare Logan away. "I need to talk to you," he finally said, "It's about Rogue."

On pure impulse, Logan stepped away from the door, letting Bobby in. He was sort of relieved that he seemed not to be alone to be worried about Rogue. He closed the door behind them.

------

Magneto casually floated a pen in front of him, purely because of amusement. It had been a while since he'd allowed himself these childish pleasures, but being without his mutation made him appreciate it much more.

Pyro sat across the table from him, eyeing him as if he was a mentor of great wisdom. Great perhaps he was, but the wisdom was debatable. The past days they'd been discussing their plans for the future and Magneto was greatly pleased that Pyro had no problem with the plan he was proposing.

"We need more followers," Pyro said, still looking at the pen Magneto was floating, "The school would outnumber us if we decide to approach now."

Magneto nodded, already knowing this. "Of course," he said, "Charles was always a pacifist but he always made sure that the students would be able to defend themselves – if the time came."

Magneto saw a spark of interest flicker in Pyro's eyes as he mentioned Charles, but he was pleased to see that Pyro didn't let his curiosity get the best of him. So many made that mistake. Even him.

"So what do you suggest we do now?" Pyro asked, finally taking his eyes off the floating pen.

Magneto let the pen slowly float back to the table, "All in good time, Pyro. All in good time," Magneto paused for a moment, "I think its time to visit an old friend."

Pyro's dismay over this comment was obvious. "Do you really think that's wise? Although the government has had her under surveillance, she's been unlocatable for quite a while. Seeing her might put you right back on the radar. Your probation…"

Magneto smiled at this new piece of information. "The government has lost track of her? Interesting. But no, Pyro, perhaps it's not wise; after all, she has all the reason in the world to hate me. But I have a feeling she would come to be extremely useful."

Pyro leaned closer, interested in hearing more.


	3. The Way We Wished It To Be

**Title**: Law of Nature  
**Rating:** R - eventually  
**Summary:** Nothing is permanent. Post-X3  
**Author's Note**: This chapter I think is a bit longer than the others. There's not so much to say about this chapter, I think. I hope that you will enjoy this chapter and thank you everyone for your reviews – they are very helpful. Feel free to drop down a review after you've read it, it would make me very happy to see.  
**Pairings**: Rogue/Pyro, Rogue/Bobby, Rogue/Wolverine, Mystique/Magneto, Magneto/Xavier (vibes), Bobby/Pyro (vibes)

* * *

_CHAPTER THREE: THE WAY WE WISHED IT TO BE_  
Marie leaned back against the back of Xavier's grave, a place where few visited and her newfound safe haven. She and Bobby had just had another fight. She hated them and wanted nothing more than to make them go away, but she knew her part in them. She was constantly pushing him, driving him to the edge of anger and being down right a bitch to him. In this pace he'd be comforting himself in the arms of Kitty in no time at all. Her fear of loosing the only one that willingly held on to her, was mixed with many emotions, most of them not her own. 

These days she was walking around with a around the clock migraine and it was also a factor in her fierce temperament. Everyone had started to avoid her now, even to some extent Bobby and she was unofficially labelled the outcast of the school. Before, she'd been quite popular and known to be quite cool, now she was thought of as bitchy and arrogant. It was partly true. No one seemed to want to come near her anymore.

Marie sighed, feeling herself crack again and the tears began to come out again. She hated this weakness. Crying was weak. It wasn't for her. She was strong, or at least should be. She heard a voice inside her head, a person who had touched her years ago with an intention of killing her, telling her how weak she was and how magnificent she could be. Probably not level five, but close enough.

Marie threw her head against the back of the grave, ignoring the pain. She never asked for these voices, she didn't want them. All she wanted was to be alone. Everyone was bailing on her just because she got a little bit difficult. They didn't deserve her.

Her eyes went to the gate of the school and she found herself wondering what was out there. She'd been inside the school for a very long time now; barely remembered how it was on the outside. Away from her classmates. Away from X-Men and unity. She felt like a bird trapped in a cage and suddenly felt as if she was struggling to breathe.

-------

Bobby felt so stupid for fighting with Rogue earlier in the day, but he was so concerned about her. Everyone was talking crap about her, saying that she was mental and that she had completely lost it and so forth. He wanted her to be happy and it was frustrating to see that she wasn't it. Also he felt guilty when she made him so angry that he in a momentary rage agreed with what their classmates said. _I should be a better boyfriend_, Bobby thought, eaten up with guilt as he always was, _Try and understand her more._

Normally, he would be jealous of Wolverine since he always seemed to have this special way with Rogue that made Rogue calm down severely. But after watching Rogue getting all on Wolverine's case during class filled him with conflicted feelings. Partly it felt as it was an accomplishment and partly it was worry because not even Wolverine seemed to get through her defensive barriers.

He opened the room to her room, looking into the room it felt as if all the power within him had drained from him.

She was gone. She had left.

Bobby looked as the room was cleared from things. Everything from her rock posters to her socks was gone from the room, as if she'd never been there in the first place. He'd suffered through her leaving him before, but this was different. He had no idea where she could be, what she was thinking.

She'd left without saying goodbye.

Bobby felt a tear run down his cheek. He had failed.

-------

Marie walked through the gate, she knew that people had seen her, but she had a feeling no one would tell Bobby until he figured out for himself. They probably figured they'd broken up and she'd left. Marie felt extremely shocked and angry as tears ran down her cheek as the distance between herself "Xavier's School for the Gifted" disappeared further and further away. She had no reason to be sad. She had nothing there anymore. But she couldn't help but feel as if a part would've wanted someone to fight harder for her. Someone she knew noticed that she was going away and that person would try to keep here there. But there was no one.

_Bobby will probably miss you at first, _a voice said in her mind, perhaps not her own, _But he'll realize the time he wasted on you and move. He won't care. And Logan… well, he haven't really paid attention to you in ages, why should he start now?_

Marie restlessly adjusted her bag, but she didn't see where she was going and suddenly she found herself on the ground. She'd tripped. Then, as if another shockwave hit her; all the sorrow in her heart flooded out and she sat there, in the middle of the road, crying her heart out. There was no way to stop the tears. She hated herself more and more for every tear she shed but there was no way to control it. She tried but they always came back. She hated herself for being weak, for being who she was. She would be so much better being someone else. Not that anyone would care.

------

Logan hadn't noticed until Marie didn't come to his class he had in the afternoon. When he'd asked one of her friends, they shrugged and said that she'd left. As if it was unimportant, as if they didn't care. It had been ten seconds ago, now he was rushing himself to her room. He had a voice telling him that she had, but he needed to see it.

He halted in front of the room; the door was open, displaying all the things that weren't there for anyone that wanted to see. He saw Bobby, sitting on the bed, looking as if he'd been run over by a train and looked generally crushed.

Swallowing, pushing away his own feelings for a moment, he looked at Bobby. "Are you okay, kid?"

Bobby looked up at him, as if he couldn't believe what Logan was saying. "Do I look okay? She left without saying goodbye," his voice faded and he looked down on his knees again. Probably fighting the emotions within him, trying to keep them bottled up.

Logan glanced one last time at Bobby, but then started to look at the room. Marie's scent still lingered, but it was fading – dying. He felt so guilty and as if he had failed her. Perhaps if he had cared more and stepped out of his defences. Put himself out there a little bit more. Being a little bit more access able. Maybe she wouldn't be gone.

-------

Pyro looked down on the masses that had come to hear Magneto speak and felt a strange feeling of accomplishment. Most of them were still believers of Magneto's and his own cause, ready to sacrifice their lives if necessary. Most of them hadn't been around the first time around, but they'd heard of Magneto and his struggle and admired him for it. Now they had come out of hiding, ready to fully sacrifice themselves for the freedom that Magneto wanted. Absolute supremacy. He did not need to agitate the crowd. They were already cheering.

Pyro smiled.

------

Magneto watched as Pyro knocked on the white door. A strange feeling of excitement and bittersweet reunion filled him. A middle age man opened the door, looking as if he had the worst hangover of his life.

"What?" the middle age man groaned.

Magneto smiled. Mystique was a good actress, but not that good. There was a certain grace she possessed that made her the most beautiful woman he knew. He could tell her apart from anyone.

"My dear Mystique," he greeted warmly, "Will you be polite and invite us in?"

The man looked greatly disappointed, close to anger, but stepped away from the door, inviting them in. Magneto was let in without a problem but as Pyro was about to step in, Mystique almost closed the door in his face. She smiled with fake excuse on her face. Pyro ignored her and took his place next to Magneto – where she once stood.

As the door was closed and Magneto was indoors, Mystique changed form, crossing her arms, looking greatly displeased.

"My dear," Magneto continued, "Anger does nothing for you."

"Anger?" Mystique questioned with a distinct hardness in her voice, "This is not anger. This is fury. You left me."

For a moment, Magneto felt slightly regretful. "I know my dear, but I couldn't keep you. You became one of them."

Mystique's anger did not lessen, more likely Magneto's apology only add fuel to her fire. "It wouldn't have mattered," she said flatly, "I wouldn't have betrayed you."

Mystique looked directly into Magneto's eyes, accusing him of so many things, and Magneto looked most definitely regretful.

"And yet sadly," Magneto replied, "You did. You told Them where our base of operations were located. But that doesn't matter now, I expected as much. My dear, now that you are fully restored to all that you can be, I have an offer to make."

Mystique glared. "I'm not interested in anything you have to say."

"Perhaps," Magneto said, almost surrendering to the possibility that Mystique would never listen to him again, "But I know something that would interest you."

Pyro watched as the two spoke in hushed voices, as they moved closer together and he saw what a power Magneto still held over Mystique when he talked to her. Pyro wasn't sure if he should feel contempt for this weak woman or threatened.

------

Marie pushed her way through the crowds. It seemed all of New York City seemed to be collected on that very street and Marie was sure she had never seen so many people before. She heard a few grunts from stressed business men that were annoyed by the fact that she pushed herself through them, not submitting to their busy schedule. Being in this huge crowd made her feel the fear and temptation that flowed within herself.

A part of her was terrified of the mere thought of touching someone, skin to skin contact, but another part embraced it, urging on the promise of havoc. She felt conflicted, broken as if they were two personalities living within her, fighting for power. In truth, they were many more.

Logan, Magneto, Bobby, herself… Everyone fought for absolute control of her actions, trying to control her to their pleasure. At this, Marie felt completely powerless and left out. She felt like a machine that anyone could take control over as long as they had enough strength of mind.

After a lot of wait, Marie managed to find an empty park bench as she sat down on. She'd been sleeping outside for days now, going from place to place, but mostly drifting in the New York City area, trying to blend in. But it seemed as if no matter how much she ran, she always stood out.

She was unhappy. She wanted nothing more than to be like everyone, to feel no doubt of where she belonged, but it seemed as if that was a wish that would continue to be unanswered. Marie hadn't showered for days and her limbs ached because of the constant walking and lack of a comfortable bed to sleep in. She did not dare to lift anymore because this one man had been a little bit too frisky and she had ended up hurting him. She could feel the creep inside her head, whispering ugly, disgusting things to her; they were vague but the mere thought of having them there in the first place made her sick.

She twisted her hands nervously, as she always did before and as she had started to again. She just wanted to rest, to have her close her eyes and not having to worry about what would happen to her. To be completely safe.

Marie closed her eyes. She'd always been different but when she got her mutation it was… official. She was marked now and no matter how much she scrubbed she couldn't get the mark off her. The potential to be special, to be something unique held little temptation to her. She just wanted to be like everyone else.


	4. Fire at the Sparks

**Title**: Law of Nature  
**Rating:** R - eventually  
**Pairings:** Rogue/Pyro, Rogue/Bobby, Rogue/Wolverine (vibes) and many more  
**Author's Note:** So, this is a long chapter. Some of you will be cheering on me, some of you will be hating me, I think. It's a very nervous moment, so please leave feedback, I'm desperate to know how you feel about this chapter.

* * *

"Bobby!" Kitty said as she rushed to his side as they walked out from Storm's class, "Wanna go ice-skating today?" 

Bobby looked at Kitty, staring at the brunette, not believing the nerve this girl had. "Not today, Kitty."

Kitty sighed, obviously disappointed, but she seemed to think as if he was still fair game. "I'm still together with Rogue," Bobby added, hoping to kill the hope Kitty seemed to have that they would be an item.

Kitty stopped, looking confused at Bobby. "But… She left."

Bobby sighed. Yeah, it wasn't as if he didn't know that. "Yeah, she did. But I knew it. She told me. She'll be back soon." Lying wasn't a good idea but he didn't have the energy to deal with Kitty just yet. She was a nice girl, but he didn't want to rush himself into another relationship. What if she actually came back?

Kitty tilted her head, doubting him, "Then why are you so sad?"

Bobby sighed with played indifference. "I am allowed to miss her, aren't I?"

Without another word, he left Kitty and tried to ignore the situation entirely. The other guys were annoyed at him, and thought he was Rogue's lap dog. They said they wanted nothing more than to be in his shoes so they could make a move on Kitty and that they couldn't understand why he still held on to Rogue because she was such a major bitch.

They just didn't understand what being a boyfriend really was about. It wasn't about sex, or not even touching, it was about holding on to the other and love them with all their heart.

Bobby was looking forward to a quiet night in his room but then he met Wolverine in the hall and knew immediately that he could cross those plans over. _I hope he got something good_, he thought.

Wolverine stopped in front of him and looked around as if he was afraid to overheard by someone else. "Anything?" Bobby asked.

Wolverine whispered. "Nothing yet, but if I know her correctly she's probably eight hundred miles away from here now. But I thought we could check out somewhere nearby tonight, just in case."

Bobby nodded. Since Rogue disappeared, it seemed as if Wolverine and himself were the only ones worried about Rogue and wanted to find her. The others reasoned that she would come back soon enough. Soon just didn't cut it for either of them.

"When do we leave?"

Wolverine wondered for a moment. "Meet me by the fountain at eleven. Everyone should be in bed by then."

Bobby wondered if he should inform Wolverine that there were in fact students that snuck out during curfew and never got caught. He and Rogue had been part of that group so many times. But he decided not to and instead he nodded, going to his room, mentally preparing of another night of disappointment. In his heart, he knew that Rogue wouldn't be found until she wanted to be, but he didn't want to sit around and wait for her to come back on her terms. Relationships were about compromises.

--------

Bobby lay awake, watching the clock on the wall slowly tick by. Five minutes to twelve he started to sneak out, knowing that he probably would be a few minutes before the said time but it would give them more time to search.

He sneaked into the garage where Wolverine already stood waiting. "Are you ready, kid?"

Bobby wondered if he should point out that he was practically an adult but ignored that information and nodded. "Yeah."

"Good," Wolverine replied, the moment of concern that Bobby might've changed his mind over, and Wolverine started packing some stuff. "Come on kid, let's go."

Bobby stared at the motorcycle at disbelief, then looking up at Wolverine, who stood uncomfortably looking at him and trying to understand his strange behaviour.

"Are we going on that?"

"No, I have a donkey stationed right outside. Why, do you have a _problem_ with it?" Wolverine sighed and put his hands on his sides.

Bobby sighed, trying to figure out how to say it. "That's _Scott's_ motorcycle."

For a moment, Bobby thought he saw something that looked like remorse spread over Wolverine's face, but it was soon changed to indifferent, so Bobby told himself he was imagining. Wolverine got onto the bike and waved to Bobby, "Are you in or out, kid?"

Bobby rushed to the bike and got up behind Wolverine as he started the engine.

--------

Mystique walked into the room with her usual graceful steps, placing herself next to Magneto, leaning down as closely as she could, giving him a quick glance, before whispering something in Magneto's hear.

Pyro felt sick.

He sat on the sofa, playing around with one of his fireballs as Magneto was looking through his papers. The best things about being a badass was that you could hang around doing really nothing without anyone telling you otherwise.

"Splendid," Magneto mumbled and Pyro felt a childlike desire to know what exactly it had been that Mystique had told him. "Just splendid."

Finally, the worse of him took over and before Pyro had a chance to stop himself he asked what it was that was so splendid.

Magneto smiled slightly and informed Pyro of Mystique's latest accomplishments. Pyro listened, realizing that it was important that he knew these things, if it were because he was battling with Mystique for Magneto's favour he didn't know, but it was important. Much more than anything you could learn behind a school desk.

"I'm surprised," Pyro said with an acted indifference as he played around with the fireball, "That _the X-Men_ haven't sensed anything or interfered in some way." He looked up at Magneto, studying his facial expression as he mentioned them. He couldn't understand how Magneto, who stood against everything that the X-Men did, could speak about them with almost admiration in his voice. They were nothing but cattle waiting their slaughter. They were indifferent and therefore part of the problem.

"After Charles' unfortunately passing and the fates of Jean Grey and Scott Summers, they have been slacking. They wouldn't even know what was going on even if we left them a note," Magneto exchanged a playful glance with Mystique, "Which fortunately works in our advantage. Tell me, Mystique, where did you say she was?"

---------

It was dark all around her. Marie could hear people laughing, cheering drunkenly together somewhere in the distance and she could the fear gripping her like a cold wind at wintertime. It was quite silly, she could kill them by touching them, but she still feared them so greatly. Them. Humans. _Homo Sapiens and their guns_.

Marie shuddered as she hid behind a trash container somewhere in the less fashionable quarters of New York. She knew she was idiotic for fearing them so much, she was after all higher up in the food chain, but the cruelty and malice that humans so often showed were almost demonic. Like at World War II when they legally murdered over nine million people. Marie had never been one for history but it was as if at this moment, she could feel something inside of her that lived in that terror and knowledge of what humans could be capable of and that fought strongly for it to never happen again.

The happy drunk voices changed into rushed, harsh voices as a third party joined into the drunken happiness with less happy news. Marie didn't need to be brought up in New York to know that the people only metres away were being robbed. She wondered if she should help them.

_Let them help themselves, they never did anything to you,_ a voice said.

_But if you don't, you will be just as bad as them,_ another said.

_Who cares? Do what you feel like. Personally, I would love to rip their spleen out. Ought to teach them something before walking out on the street. Drunk._

Marie felt the migraine attack hit her like a speeding train. Without thinking she let out a loud groan of pain and happened to smash her head against the container behind her. She tried to control the pain, fight it, but it seemed impossible. The more she fought, the worse it hurt.

She felt tears running down her cheeks as the pain almost paralyzed her. She'd never had a headache this bad. She just wanted… to put a bullet through her template because all of the pain, all the anger and different moods within her were driving her deeper and deeper into the pool of madness.

Maybe everyone was right, maybe she was loosing it.

Suddenly, within that moment of weakness, a fire lit in her heart and Marie vowed that she'd prove everyone wrong. She'd be strong and she'd fight. She was completely sane and if she needed to walk across the globe to prove it that was what she was going to do. She wasn't a victim anymore. She was becoming an adult and she could take care of herself.

Suddenly everything was black.

------------

The men were laughing, kicking her carelessly in the stomach. Marie was slowly regaining consciousness as they almost kicked ruthlessly her with their boots.

"Look," one said, laughing coldly, "She's one of them. She's one of those freaks."

Marie could hear some voices in the background agree and there were a few more kicks to her abdomen and chest.

"She's pathetic," another said, "She doesn't even fight back. Probably doesn't have an IQ higher than five." The men laughed coldheartedly again and Marie felt a chill go through her spine. She knew she needed to defend herself, this was painful, but she didn't… She didn't want to lower herself to their standards.

Suddenly she felt a boot connect with her head and Marie saw stars. After a few more beating sessions, she could feel the blood in her mouth and she was whimpering in pain, while the others laughed at her misery.

"Pathetic."

"Freak."

"Animal."

They threw words at her as they continued with their beating and Marie was growing weak. Not physically but mentally her defences from the inner struggle was wearing down and her own conscious presence began to lessen for every minute that passed.

Something within her was growing furious, blinding everything and filling up her being. She knew that these idiots – these mindless animals – would be dead unless she didn't restrain herself. She didn't want to be marked like that. She didn't want to be a killer. And she didn't want to touch them ever because she would never want to have their thoughts inside her own mind. Even though this was a question of survival, Marie would rather die than to have them inside of her, hating everything that she was.

Marie's body became limb and everything was beginning to be further and further far away. The fury that filled her grew but she had no control of it. All she wanted to do was sleep, because she was so tired…

Suddenly, as if from some sort of extra force entered her, Rogue suddenly got up, suddenly feeling much better. She grabbed one of the human's throat, squeezed as much as she could before kicking him at the crown jewels. The human drew back, cursing in pain. The others, who noticed she wasn't that defenceless anymore, backed off and ran for their lives.

Rogue's adrenalin ran at eight hundred and she felt that the fight was very unsatisfactory; she looked as the cowards ran for their lives. But then a surge of pleasure washed through her as she realized she still had one. She slowly turned to the human, smiling wickedly and closed up on him. She was about to take off her gloves but stopped herself in the last second.

During this brief second, the human saw its destiny and became terrified. He started whimpering, pleading to appeal to her consciousness. Rogue smiled and kicked him in the abdomen, returning the not so graceful treatment he'd given her.

"Weak," she echoed his words and kicked again, "Evil," another kick, "_Animal_."

At the last word, she put force she didn't even know she had and the man almost flew a few feet.

There was nothing graceful, satisfying or righteous in this fight. Marie watched almost in horror as she almost lost control over her own body and it just moved on its own accord. It was calming, but also greatly horrifying.

"You think you are so much better than us." She heard herself say, "But tell me, if you were – would you be pleading for your life right now?"

Rogue looked at this pathetic form of life, feeling the seductive feeling of power wash through her, and then she left – leaving the animal in its shame and fear. For the first time, Marie was afraid of herself.

-------

Bobby felt as if he was on the edge of tears as Wolverine parked the motorcycle in the garage. Nothing. Not a trace of Rogue. He looked over at Wolverine, who had said nothing besides snapping at him when they'd searched. He seemed greatly worried, angry… guilty. Bobby knew Wolverine blamed himself for Rogue leaving just as he did. People said that when you found out you had something in common, you liked the other person better, but Bobby couldn't understand the logic behind it. He still felt slightly threatened by him, a reason that probably lay more in his nature than his love life.

"Get off," Wolverine snapped as he got off the bike, "You don't need to go to class now in the morning considering they start in three hours-"

Bobby nodded, sneaking back into his room. The last thing he thought of before going to sleep was Rogue. When would she come back? Or rather, _would_ she come back?

-------

Pyro walked out from the record store, feeling rather content with himself. It was quite surprising who actually mutants were. Mutants, or at least some, stopped him on the streets, recognizing him as powerful and it was quite seductive. Just a few minutes ago the store owner had given him permission to take one record for free, without charge. It was so different to be looked upon rather down upon as he had in Mutant High. He remembered his time at the school with a bitter taste.

As he walked down the street, he suddenly stopped. Surely, he must be seeing sights because… no, she actually stood there. He would recognize that brunette hair anywhere. Rogue sat down on a park bench not far away. Pyro felt that childish curiosity fill him and he wondered if he should go and say hello. She looked unhappy, greatly at that, which made him extremely happy. She hadn't been the source of his unhappiness at school but she was an indirect cause of it. Bobby, who he – for the record – didn't like much, had become even more boring and less inclined to have fun.

Just as Pyro was about to walk away he saw Rogue acknowledge him. Her eyes became attached to his own and it seemed as if he could, for some reason, stare at her for a while without minding the sight much. Rogue didn't seem too angry at him, she looked sort of… relieved but yet strangely disappointed.

Pyro shrugged his head, thankful he wasn't a mind reader because it would give him a terrible headache.

He looked again on Rogue, as if he needed confirmation that she still sat there. He felt how awkwardness filled him, alike the one he'd felt before he became a mutant, but he pushed that feeling away. He was stronger now. Better.

Pyro watched as Rogue walked up to him. She looked different. Hardened, sad and not as innocent anymore. If he didn't know her, he'd almost mistake her for a full grown woman. There was only a small underlying tension as she reached him. Pyro looked at her indifferently and searched for faults in her.

"Hey John," she said, trying to sound cheerful.

Mistake one, calling him John. Mistake two, she lied, she was fake. She tried to be something she wasn't. Pyro hated fake people. He did not smile nor reply her greeting, merely examining her.

Rogue blushed slightly, partly of embarrassment, partly of anger. Pyro knew that she hated when people looked at her. "Will you stop it?"

It was a bizarre world. Pyro had gone and joined what Rogue viewed as the source of all evil, and yet they stood there, not fighting but merely… trying to have a civil conversation. Pyro looked around for the others, because this was too good to merely a convenience. The others must be somewhere close, waiting for him to lead them to Magneto.

"Where are the others of your little golden team?" Pyro mocked, trying to show her that this was his turf, enjoying seeing a hint of sadness come over Rogue. "Hiding somewhere, are they?"

Rogue looked down, biting her lip and Pyro waited for the sarcastic comeback. Rogue was the expert at them, sometimes. She only let out the really nasty ones when Bobby wasn't around and that part of Rogue Pyro really liked. Bobby was only holding her back.

But Rogue remained silent.

"What's the matter? The humans cut your tongue out?" Pyro tried to catch her eyes to see if she'd fire at the sparks he sent her, but she kept her eyes away from sight. Disappointing.

------

Marie looked up at him, not sure what to say to him. The truth? Technically he was the enemy. Besides, the truth was highly overrated. Truth is only something in the eye beholder. What would he know if she lied? She happened to be a master at that skill, sometimes.

"They aren't here," she managed after a while. It was good, it wasn't a lie but it wasn't really a truth on the same time. It was like… keeping information from him. What was to stop him from turning her into Magneto? Marie remembered with horror the Statue of Liberty incident years ago.

Marie saw as Pyro smiled, sickly. "I find that very surprising," he said, "With this being such a big bad world with people like me in it."

Marie felt like laughing. "People like you? John, you are not dangerous. You are about as harmful as a spider."

She must've touched a nerve because soon he was extremely close to her, there was a spark and soon she saw a fireball in his hands. "Really?" he whispered softly, "I'm much more dangerous than you think."

Marie stared at the fireball a while, a part of her strangely fascinated. Then the thrall was broken and she looked back up at John, grinning slightly, whispering back: "Really? I find that hard to believe."

It was meant as an insult but it came out more like a challenge than anything else. A challenge to see who held more power and she was pretty sure that she could control fire if she wanted to.

The fireball disappeared from John's hands, leaving behind a small shade of smoke. "You don't know much about me anymore," John explained calmly, "I have friends in high places. I'm going somewhere."

Marie smiled, for the first time in a long time. "If your friend in high places is Magneto, I feel greatly sorry for you. The only place you will go if you keep hanging out with Magneto is in jail, stupid."

John's eyes became in an instant very hard. "Don't call me stupid," he bit out, giving Rogue a glare.

Marie shrugged, feeling strangely enough safer now than she had ten minutes ago. "Why not? That's what you are if you think that Magneto is going to give you anything but trouble."

Marie studied John's eyes for a while. She guessed that he was a familiar face. She didn't trust him more than she trusted Magneto, but this was a person that she knew – better than people thought. She'd seen memories of his life and she felt for him, for all the pain he'd gone through, not entirely different from her own, but yet a shade darker.

In John's face a smirk appeared as if he remembered. He reached out with his hand against her throat, but Marie realized it in time and backed away. This caused John to laugh almost pleased.

"I knew it!" he said, still laughing, "It didn't go away! I bet that you drained Bobby with that nifty little power of yours, the others found out and Bobby's lying dead in some ditch right now."

Marie wondered how broken John must be, because as John was speaking of Bobby dead, his eyes gave its own special spark that looked close to insane. She knew that John and Bobby were friends although they never got along, but could John really hate him that much?

"I regret to inform you, John," Marie retorted, enjoying seeing his discontent frown as she called him by his birth name, "That I did not 'drain' him and that he's highly alive and well." _Last time you saw him._

John looked as if he'd been denied a present at Christmas. "You look terrible, Rogue," John informed after a while's silence, "When was the last time you showed? Eight years ago?" John snorted as if he thought: 'Typical'.

Marie felt slightly annoyed with him. "What I do or not do, is none of your business, John Allerdyce."

"Don't call me that." John bit back, giving her another glare.

"Why?"

"I don't like it:"


	5. The Things We Don't Wish For

**Author's Note**: Thank you everyone for your kind words. I'm sorry that it took so long for this chapter. FF wouldn't let me upload it properly. I have a twist in this chapter that I'm... well, I have mixed emotions about it, but I hope you guys will like it, although there's not much Rogue or Pyro in this chapter.

* * *

Bobby tried to focus on what Storm was telling them, it was something important. He heard something about five percent of their grade, but the rest sort of drained away. He found himself nodding on and off from the lesson, catching only pieces of what Storm was telling them. 

Bobby blinked a few times and tried with all of his energy, which wasn't much right now, to focus and hear what Storm was telling them. Even though his parents thought it was horrible that he was a mutant, they still cared about his schooling.

"Bobby," Storm seemed to have finally caught him, "Am I boring you with World War II or is it just that you forgot to sleep last night?"

A few students giggled, and Bobby sent the gigglers a glare. Ignorant idiots. Only a few weeks ago, they would've kissed his feet to be his friend… or something.

Storm looked at him sharply, clearly expecting an answer, but Bobby didn't know what to say. Storm sighed, giving up.

"Fine, Bobby," she said annoyed, "Sharpen up or I'll make you stand outside… in the rain. Got it?"

The threat was sharp and caused some more giggles but Bobby nodded.

For the rest of the lesson he slept.

Someone shook him awake when the class was ending and Bobby tried to beat the world recording in getting out of class the quickest but Storm managed to see him in time:

"Bobby, could you stay a moment. I'd like to talk to you."

Bobby looked around, saw a few students giving him mischievous grins, then turned one-hundred-and-eighty degrees and sat down on a bench. Storm came over to him, examining him first from every angle with a look that made Bobby nervous.

"Oh, I'm just trying to see if I can find some physical reason as to why you fell asleep in class today… repeatedly," she told him when he asked what she was doing. She sat down, looking right into his eyes, "I know it's difficult with Rogue gone," Apparently she'd heard the rumours too, "And I can't say I'm a qualified person to talk to about it, but you could always talk to…" She paused and looked doubtful. Bobby already knew who she was going to say.

"-Logan." She ended, "He's actually the most qualified person to talk about Rogue, if you feel like you want to do that." Storm bit her lip, as if she wondered if she was dealing with this correctly.

"I'm alright," Bobby tried to assure her, partly lying, partly telling the truth. He missed Rogue but the world wasn't ending… yet.

Storm nodded. "Okay, but if you ever need some time… I know that relationships can be very difficult…" Suddenly something distant came into Storm's eyes and Bobby remembered the rumours from last year about Storm and that Kurt Wagner person. Those rumours had died when Kurt had left the school to become a priest.

Storm snapped out of her own thoughts, her eyes slightly misty as she looked at him. "Okay," she ended the conversation with, trying to sound happy and encouraging.

-------

"It's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be," John argued as he and Rogue sat on a park bench, "I just can't believe how you can be so blissfully ignorant of the fact that you are trying to work for people that wants you dead."

"I can't believe how ignorant _you_ are for thinking that The Brotherhood did nothing to provoke the violent response out of people." Rogue replied, quite enjoying their conversation of mutant politics.

John shook his head. "We are merely defending ourselves. You ignore the signs around you. They want us gone and they will do anything to make sure that all of us goes the same way that the Jews did in World War II. Magneto…"

"What about him? He as some psychic power that foresees this?" Rogue snorted, "Give me a break."

"He was in World War II. They branded him, abused him and tortured him. The signs are exactly the same," John explained in an almost textbook precise procedure, having complete faith in his belief. Suddenly John yawned, "This conversation is getting boring," he informed her, "I answered your questions – now it's time that you answer mine."

Marie froze, uncertain if it was such a good idea. She really didn't like the idea of John asking questions. He had an ability of always hitting the questions right on the nail and making her very uncomfortable.

"Why are you _really_ without the golden group?" John started, his eyes sparking with curiosity.

Marie shrugged. "Why aren't you killing me right now? You are supposed to hate all of us."

John smirked, "You didn't answer my question. And I haven't killed you yet because I don't really see a reason for it. It would just be pointless. Besides, it's much more fun to tease you. Why haven't you killed me yet?"

Marie shook her head in amusement, not believing the answer she got. It was so unbelievably easy and almost childishly simple. "I've had enough violence for one day."

Marie saw that John wanted to ask something more, but the sadness in her voice kept him from saying much more. Which she was glad for. She hated questions, because sometimes they kept her from telling the truth.

-------

One day, months after Marie's disappearance, Logan woke up with a start. He checked messages from people he had sworn never to talk to again, at least out of those he could remember, for information about Marie. Putting out an ad would only draw more attention than wished for, so he had to go through some strange sources and dig deep to find any reliable information.

People, especially Storm, wondered why he continued with this mad man quest – Marie was probably happy somewhere, maybe with her parents – but he wanted to search her up to dig up old wounds. Perhaps that was true but the longer Marie was away the more rotten did Logan feel. Marie was the first one that really cared about him and she was the first one that inspired any kind of feeling in him too and he would be damned if he left their relationship like that. It wouldn't be fair to anyone.

There were no new messages. Logan sighed, once again hoping that Marie would during the day, walk through the doors and explain that it was a terrible misunderstanding so he would howl at her for leaving like that. It was strange how distance made him feel much more parental.

_Just a little bit too late, pal,_ the negative part of Logan said annoyed, _Should've done it a long time ago, not that she's seeing this whole change._

Logan dressed, feeling quite melancholy at the lack of fake news – at least searching up those fake leads gave him some sort of purpose. He hadn't really fought for Jean, just sort of hoped she'd fall for his charms, but he wouldn't let the same thing happen to Marie. Marie was like Jean in some ways, they wouldn't stick around for him to make up his mind. He thought he'd loved Jean once, he really thought so, but it wasn't until of late that he'd realized that strong was fighting. Perhaps he didn't have that kind of love for Marie, but it was honest and something he was thankful he had. He was sick of being alone all the time, having Marie as his family was sort of comforting at times, until he broke out of his bubble and realized he'd blown it.

He past Bobby in the hallway but didn't stop to tell him what he already knew. They'd stopped telling each other when they didn't have any leads, it happened too often. Now they only told the other when the lead held any great significant, which so far was never.

During the day, Logan felt his neck growing stiff and he knew that he needed a holiday. He barely slept at night, which wasn't new, but it only added to the other bad that were going on. Apparently Magneto was growing more powerful, but what his exact purpose was no one really knew since most of his followers followed him more than happy in blind sight, not really minding what the target was as long as it ensured them absolute power. However, Storm was sure that it was still in an early stage and they had a chance to fight back.

Then, during dinner, there was a visitor in the hallway asking for Logan to talk to. Logan looked puzzled at the stranger as he approached him, not sure what to say. The stranger was medium height, black hair and black skin. After a bit of cold small talk the stranger sparked Logan's interest:

"I heard from a few of my friends that you were looking for this girl," the stranger searched in his pocket and took out a surveillance photo from some store which clearly showed Marie on it, even though she was really small and the quality lousy. Logan nodded, not taking his eyes away from the picture.

Could he really have found her? After all this time?

The stranger took the picture away and Logan looked up at him as if he'd just stolen his dinner. His first instinct had been to tell the stranger to take the picture back. If the stranger screwed up the trail he was giving, then…

Suddenly the stranger looked sorry. "Then, I have some sad news, Mr Logan,"

Logan felt a cold chill go through his spine. He didn't like where this talk headed.

---------

Bobby saw from a distance as Wolverine was talking to some stranger, staring at something the stranger held in his hand. When the stranger left, Bobby saw it was a photograph because he could see Wolverine stare about it endlessly for about ten minutes. Then he saw Logan's head snatch exactly into his direction and he got the strange idea that it wasn't good news.

"What did you find out?" Bobby asked as he sat down opposite Wolverine, "Did they find her?"

Wolverine looked as if he was considering something, "Look, Bobby-"

Bobby's brain froze. Wolverine never called him Bobby. What exactly had Wolverine found out? He felt shills on his skin and it felt as if his blood froze, literary.

"I'm sorry, kid, but she's dead," Wolverine managed so say and as he spoke out the words a tear fell down from his eye and Bobby felt as if he was zooming out on him. This wasn't real. This wasn't happening. She wasn't… No, she… No, she just couldn't be.

Wolverine took a deep breath, his voice shaking. "A-Apparently, a pair of robbers hit a bank. She was shot. She was declared dead on the scene by a doctor who was held hostage with her."

Bank? Hostage? The words didn't seem to be real. Nothing about the situation seemed real. Bobby wondered if he should pinch himself just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He couldn't even cry because this was not happening. It. Wasn't. Happening.

"Her mother claimed the body," Wolverine continued, "She was cremated, according to her wishes."

Bobby stared at Wolverine, growing angry. Cremated! Rogue hated the thought of being burned up. The little they'd spoken of the subject he knew that she wanted a huge gravestone where her grandchildren could come and visit, and him too – if their relationship lasted. Bobby had sort of liked that idea.

"This," Bobby looked around, searching for the words as if it would be plastered somewhere, "This isn't happening." He swallowed, it couldn't be. Just, no. Not happening.

What Bobby didn't know was that denial was a pretty place to be.


	6. Deal With the Devil

**Author's Note**: Yeah, well, the fic isn't over and I'm not going to say much more other than I hope you enjoy reading this fic and that you will keep reading. There's a lot more to go, so... I would be thrilled if you kept reading. Have a great day and I hope that if you feel like saying something you can give me a review (if you don't want everyone to see it, you could always email me).

* * *

Logan, however, held no illusions. His spirit had been broken in half and a part of him had walked out with the stranger. So much for showing that he'd changed, that he did care. She'd left this earth without even knowing that. She'd left without knowing that she was the most important person in his life. She was as much a part of him as his metal claws. She was his family. And now she wasn't anymore. She would never see sunshine again; she would never walk this earth again or hear at his lame attempts to be funny. 

He looked down at the photograph he held in his hand, the low quality surveillance photograph that had once filled him with so much hope, had now filled him with deep regret and guilt. He'd read or at least heard that people knew when a loved one dies – but he felt as if it was just a big joke because he hadn't felt anything these past few weeks, not even a whisper.

"He… Ehm, He came with this photo," Logan managed in attempt to comfort Bobby some, reluctantly giving away the photograph. "It was taken in a store only hours before it happened."

Bobby looked at it for a while, one tear running down his cheek. Logan felt deeply sorry for the kid, because he knew that Bobby thought he was in love with Rogue. But young love always healed. Suddenly Bobby froze, staring at the picture.

"This isn't happening," he said.

Wolverine looked at him in surprise, because there wasn't a hint of denial in his voice, as grieving people usually showed. The statement was nothing more than a statement. Bobby looked at him new lit hope in his eyes.

"This can't be a real picture," he said, pointing at the picture in his hand.

Logan snatched it out of Bobby's hands, staring at it for a good while. "Why not?" Logan argued, trying to find some fault on it that would explain Bobby's excitement.

"Because Pyro's right there," Bobby said and pointed to Marie's left.

Indeed, there was a small little rat of a teenager, perhaps not that visible but when Bobby said it, Logan said some similarities. Bobby explained that it was impossible in the first place that there was no way that Marie would hang out with Pyro and since the stranger had given them a false picture, he might as well given them wrong information.

"Look, kid," Logan said, not wanting to hear it. He didn't want anything to do with maybes and different theories. He'd done that with Jean and that had almost killed him with grief. "The guy showed me the death certificate. I'm sorry, but… there's just no way."

Logan looked at the picture again. _Although, I'd like to think so._

--------

A WEEK EARLIER.

"Are you sure of this?" John looked deeply into Marie's eyes, trying to search for confirmation.

Marie nodded. "Yes, go on," looking as John signed the document. "I told you, I want to change life."

Marie couldn't believe she was there. It had just sort of been as if she and John had met at different places by random chance and finally they decided to go with faith and started to hang out.

As strange and morbid as it sounded, John sort of became her family as she was there in New York. She hadn't met Magneto yet and she had no planes to either, that son of a bitch could burn in hell – World War II victim or not. Her heart was black as far as Magneto was concerned. John was another matter; she could forgive his trespasses from before, as she saw these lighter, friendlier sides of John that she actually sort of liked. Not like Bobby though, because no one was like Bobby. But John was her sort of comfort in all this. When she felt lost, John always helped her out. Hell, he'd even gotten her an own apartment.

John looked up from the document with a smile on his face. "Although, I won't be your sugar daddy. You'll have to work for the money too."

Marie nodded. "No sugar daddy. Got it."

John smiled amused together with Marie, shook his head and continued with the document. "You're weird." He stated, a small affection hidden it but it passed Marie.

"Haven't you heard?" she replied, "So are you."

As the document was made, Marie leaned back on the sofa. It was quite comfortable here. She missed Bobby terribly but she didn't want to back there. She didn't deserve him. The voices were easier to control here, where she didn't have to think so much or compete with someone. She only had John and he had no problem with hanging out with her. Although she was still endlessly scared of herself and her powers, they felt like light years away.

"How does it feel being dead?" John asked, his face by her feet, his feet by her head. His voice was serious, curious, but half-joking.

Marie wondered for a moment. "Pretty good," she looked into John's eyes and she felt herself glowing slightly. "Like a new life."

The answered seemed to content John as he laid his hands beneath his head, and sighed. He didn't say anything else but Marie had learned to read him pretty well.

She never told him that she missed Bobby. And she never would.

-------

"No, Pyro." Magneto said, firm at his cause. "I won't use the Brotherhood's contacts to make a girl – a girl who fought against us – disappear because she's going through a phase and doesn't want to be found."

"She's not going through a phase," Pyro sighed, sick of explaining his case for the eight hundredth time.

Mystique made a small smile. "The only way for her to get this… privilege is to join us," she said, "Why else would we even bother with her?" Suddenly he watched as Mystique's features changed, her hair becoming longer and a bit browner. Soon, an identical copy of Rogue stood in front of him.

Pyro felt his known hatred for that blue woman only increase as she stood there. That… words could not express his annoyance. Magneto looked at Mystique, smirking slightly at her idea. "My dear, you always come with the best ideas," he turned to Pyro, "I think that is a fair trade. Her new life for her new loyalty. Don't you?"

Magneto smirked and Pyro felt as if he wanted to hit something. Idiotic bastard. He still was brilliant, just pretty mental, that's all. Rogue would never in a million years agree to that. Magneto lifted his hand slightly, sending a pen into Pyro's hands.

"Give her the necessary papers, and tell her if she signs them, she's working for me."

Pyro felt defeated. He didn't… "But…"

"My boy," Magneto began, looking into Pyro's eyes, "Freedom never comes without sacrifice."

Pyro felt slightly annoyed when he left the old man. It wasn't that Rogue was forced to do it but it was the fact that he was being treated like a five year old again. He knew that Magneto was less than happy about the fact that he spent time with Rogue since she wasn't a member, and Magneto just didn't treat him like he deserved any more. At least that was what it felt like.

When he got back from the meeting, Rogue sat on her newly bought couch, looking rather puzzled with things on her mind. Pyro sat down next to her and waved the papers in front of her. Rogue looked up and this light lit in her eyes and she tried to grab them from him but Pyro kept steering them away, not at all as happy as Rogue was.

"You got the papers? Did you really?" Rogue asked, terribly excited in her voice.

Pyro snatched the papers away from her, quite annoyed with her childlike behaviour. She just couldn't take a hint. "Don't get excited though," he said dryly, "Magneto wants you to join the Brotherhood before you can sign any of these papers."

Rogue stared at Pyro in disbelief. Pyro hated when she looked like that – she looked sad, disappointed and ungrateful. He'd saved her from a life on the streets and he would be lying if he didn't expect some gratitude for it.

"But," she said, "That's not fair,"

"He thinks it is."

"Well, he's wrong."

Rogue stared at him and Pyro couldn't help but sigh. He couldn't make poverty go away nor could he make Magneto change his mind. He couldn't cross Magneto now that he was in full battle with Mystique over the place on Magneto's right side – a battle he was quickly loosing by simply hanging out with Rogue.

"He doesn't like the fact that you are from the school," Pyro tried to explain but it just seemed as if the words died within him. He held out the papers again, for her reach, "It's the only way to get what you want." The last sentence was harsh, explaining that if she signed these papers – there was no going back.

---------

Marie looked at the papers, trying to understand what she should do. She had no contact whatsoever with Bobby, Wolverine or anyone from her past life, but… she couldn't betray them like this. She couldn't just… They'd be so disappointed.

"Would it be so wrong?" John suddenly looked so fragile when he sat there on the couch, holding out the papers and giving her the last stand she could make, "You see how much people hate us. What we are. Is it really that wrong to fight back?"

Marie looked at John, trying to see why he was so sure of his cause. She didn't see any mortal reason behind _his _choice. She only saw power, selfishness and the need of a father figure he thought he had found in Magneto. She would've been blind if she didn't see the way that Pyro talked about Magneto as she had once done about Logan.

_He's only going to disappoint you,_ Marie thought sadly, _They always do._

"I…" Marie felt suddenly so tired of everything. She didn't want to sign away her freedom for the cost of a new life. She didn't want to see Magneto again – ever. She just wanted to lie down and just… exist – a pleasure that was denied her when she found out her mutation.

"You can't." Pyro finished for her, looking quite sad but still as if he was a teacher who had given her homework and she'd forgotten about it. Without anything else, he took the papers away and walked out of the apartment. "See you Monday." He said before walking out of the door.

Marie looked around at the apartment. It wasn't something expensive or anything pretty, in fact everything was dirty and old. The only thing new and comfortable in the apartment was the sofa, but Marie guessed it was the best that Pyro could give her without going to Magneto. Marie was deeply happy for their friendship, she felt as if she understood him a little bit better than at school and she'd grown a tolerance for his character.

There were no pictures on the walls, there were no signs on the walls that a human being actually lived there besides the sofa and the occasional clothes on the floor. This wasn't her room, it wasn't her home – it was just some place where she hid.

Her thoughts wandered to Bobby again, and she felt tears in her eyes as she thought. She wondered how he was, how he was doing, if he'd given up on her yet. She was sure he had – she was nothing to have after all. Marie sighed, how badly she just wanted to know how he was.

_Why don't you?_ A voice asked her, _What's here to stop you? You can go in and out without anyone noticing you._ It felt like Logan's thoughts but it could just as well be Magneto – the two people that mostly spend their time, trying to get her to do things.

And sometimes – it worked.

--------

Marie eventually managed to catch a ride to the school. It was a rainy afternoon and she knew that most students would be indoors – probably studying, so she had no problem with walking around outside undetected. It was the inside that was the problem.

Marie hid behind a bush as she walked past Xavier's grave and past the fountain, moving towards one of the doors that led into the school. It seemed like light years ago she'd been here. The damp feeling in the air and the dark skies made the building look like something from a dream. It looked unreal and quite scary at first.

Inside, there were lights lit in the hallway that lit up the otherwise dark corridor. She saw the living room were a few students read textbooks, she recognized most of them and some of her old friends were there too. Luckily, they didn't see her.

Marie moved without a sound, hiding in the shadows and behind pillars. She knew that soon the living room would be filled with people since it was just after dinner now. Marie felt a knot in her stomach as she thought of all the fun things she used to go here… The headache hit her like a speeding train – again.

_Don't mind them. They are lambs awaiting slaughter._

_You are destined for great things, don't be a insect – be a goddess._

_Don't listen to them._

Marie let out a groan and she knew that some heard her. Holding her head, trying to block the voices out some how, she ran to the next pillar and hid. Her breaths were heavy as she heard people go to the living room. She saw Bobby, the rest of the people in her year and to her shock she saw Logan, standing just behind the sofa.

_Crap!_

Logan turned slowly around and Marie felt the panic spread. She didn't care about not being seen, she ran for it – pressing out all the energy in her to make sure her legs kept moving quickly. She stood once again outside in the rain, feeling the cold drips hit her ruthlessly and lowering her body temperature. She saw how Logan turned back to watch the teenagers, figuring the smell he'd scented was nothing more than a mind trick. Marie let out a sigh of relief. She didn't want to be found, not now.

She turned back to the window, watching as Bobby talked to his friends. Marie felt happy that he wasn't too broken up about her leaving him. He looked rather… peaceful. Marie tilted her head and suddenly a thought came across her head that scared her to death.

_Imagine the peace he'd feel if he were dead…_

Marie felt the air go out of her lungs and she leaned back against the wall. What the hell happened to her? She didn't want to know this part of her that seemed to have nested itself into her thoughts. She wanted to kill it, and she hated everything about it. She felt the anger fill her and Marie's thoughts went to Magneto. She was sure whatever happened to her was his fault.

She looked through the window once more, watching the two men she cared for so much, before sneaking away from the window – walking back out into the night.

-------

When Marie came back, John sat on the couch, glancing into the wall, playing with the lighter he had in his hand. "Had a good time?" his voice was sarcastic and Marie sighed, placing herself next to John.

"What do you mean?" She couldn't understand how he could…

John looked at her. "The landlord wondered if my _girlfriend_ was moving out because she'd left with her suitcases packed. I told him that was certainly not the case it was just that she was going to go and visit her parents. But that's not true is it?" John stared at her, glaring at her, as if he tried to force out an answer in her. He was so very pissed. Marie couldn't remember when she'd seen him like this.

"I…" Marie sighed, "I had to go and see them."

John stopped, as if whatever he'd suspected was much less serious. He slowly turned around again, still looking at her furiously. "You didn't talk to them did you?" It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Marie shook her head and she noted how relieved John looked as he breathed out. "I couldn't."

John behaviour was strange and Marie couldn't help but feel there was something he wasn't telling her. "John," she continued, worried and scared about the answer she'd get, "What's going on?"

John looked at her, looking for the first time she'd met him – worried. "Nothing," he lied, the lie was about as transparent as plastic, "Nothing's going on. I just… I just don't want you talking to them. You said yourself that they made you feel bad."

Marie sighed, whatever it was, John definitely didn't want to talk about it…

---------

A day later, Marie was climbing the walls. She needed to do something, fast. She felt stupid for not signing the documents and a voice in her head told her of the actions she'd missed. John was nowhere to be seen, as he always was during the day, and she missed home. Not Xavier's School For the Gifted, but home. The place where she'd been brought up together with her mom and dad. The place where she had planned trips to remote locations, hoping for adventures. She sighed; it just didn't feel right to end a life without going to where it started.

Marie looked one last time at the apartment before closing the door, planning to take a trip to see her parents. Somehow, she knew that nothing would be the same after this. It was as if a voice in her head told her that by this time in a few days – her new life would begin. Everyone would think she was dead.

Somehow that felt like a relief.

Marie felt the money in her pocket. It was some pocket money that John had given her a while ago, and instead of spending it, something had made her hold on to it. It felt as if it was for this very purpose. It was enough for two tickets back and forth. Marie was extremely thankful that they didn't check passports flying within the US.

Marie looked down on the ground below her as she sat on the plane; she was unfortunate to have received a window seat. She hated to see the ground disappear below her. She barely heard as the crew went over the security details and she spoke lightly to an old woman who was going to visit her son at his new job.

For a moment, Marie felt completely normal.

--------

Marie knocked on the door to the old house that used to be her home, many years ago. Her mother, dressed in a flowery apron opened the door, stared at her for a moment but then put her hand over her mouth in shock. Marie smiled nervously at her as she was invited in. This felt like a million years ago.

Her mother called down her father, who probably was upstairs, working on a new hobby. He stared at Marie first as if she was the last person he expected to see again. He moved closer to hug her but as he closed up, Marie took a step back. Then they knew.

Nothing had changed.

The disappointment and sadness appeared in her father's eyes and Marie felt herself feeling something along the same lines. They wanted a good life for her, but since she couldn't touch, they saw little of that in her future. There was an awkward silence.

Then her mother swallowed and invited her on some tea. Marie smiled. _Tea would be nice._

---------

Pyro stood next to Magneto and Mystique, placed on his left side, as Magneto held a speech to the cheering crowds. He spoke of defence – fighting their enemies' friends and that no one was safe – that their wrath would strike down on everyone that stood in their way. They cheered. Pyro shared a glance with Mystique. Helpless cattle. Then he returned to watch his future. The mutants glanced at him in awe and Pyro was sure that there was nothing more seductive than this.

"Tomorrow we'll start the fight!" Magneto screamed over the masses and his call was awarded with an even louder cheer. The masses were practically vivid. Then Magneto turned around, walking out with Pyro and Mystique one on each side. "Sometimes it's just too easy." The three laughed.

-------

Marie checked her watch. Twenty minutes before the gates opened. Then she heard the sound of people cheering and a newscast woman appeared in front of the masses.

"The former mutant, formally known as Magneto, has once again gathered appeared on streets – urging mutants to war. There have been rumours about Magneto loosing his powers because of the Cure that was released onto markets months ago, but now CNN can confirm that these rumours are untrue. No visual confirmation has been made that the mutant in question really _is _Magneto, but experts are positive that such is the case-"

The news item continued for a good while longer and Marie found herself not being able to tear her eyes off the screen. She'd never really seen anything or heard that Magneto was back in business other than hints from John, but seeing the fear the experts and newsreaders seemed to have him was….

_Intoxicating._

--------

Marie sighed as she opened the door to her apartment, feeling the stress of flying go through her body and she wanted nothing more than to rest. She put the keys on the nightstand and threw the bag onto the sofa and threw herself onto the bed. She took a deep breath. It was good to be back.

Suddenly there was a sound and Marie looked up, looking around for a burger in her apartment. That was when she noticed the papers on her kitchen table. She sat down on the chair, looking at them, glancing through the pages. It had been custom made, stating that she never would interact with the X-Men again and that she would do what Magneto pleased – roughly. She looked at the pencil still on the table and then on the empty line at the bottom of the paper. Why was it so tempting? Why did feel like she wanted to sign these papers? Why did she want to betray them?

The questions ran through her head and it wasn't until later that Marie realized that she held the pencil. It was as if something else took control over her body and Marie saw as she wrote her name on the bottom of the page.

_Rogue._

Now it was done.


	7. The Things That Makes You Sick Inside

**Notes:** Well... I haven't updated in a while. It's summer and that means I'm at my summer cabbin and well... right now, my fic is a mess. I have the "beginning" at my own computer, the "middle" at my dad's and the end is at my mom's so... it's all pretty confusing. There might be a while to the next update but that doesn't mean that I will stop with this story. Since it's finished I see no reason why I should like... stop in the middle of giving it out for people to read. It's wonderful to give your own twist to a story and hear your thoughts. I hope you all are having a fantastic summer and if you (like me) have your birthday soon, I wish you a happy birthday. Again, reviews would be an awesome present for me, so if you feel like giving me some form of review, good or bad, feel free. Feedback is how we grow :)

* * *

_IN A NOT SO DISTANT FUTURE._

Rogue, dressed in a long coat and a pair of silk gloves on her hands, walked through the door of the old military bunker. Pyro was already there, standing next to Mystique and Magneto as always. Magneto looked at her in a mild surprise, but he was definitely pleased.

"My dear, how are you this morning?" He said kindly, pointing to his side for her to stand next to Pyro. But then his eyes fell on the gloves. "Oh, take off those gloves, will you? There's no need for them here."

For a moment, Rogue looked at her gloves. Slowly she took them off, feeling as if someone had just liberated her from her cage. She put the black silk gloves on Magneto's desk and shared a look with Pyro, who looked extremely content at her willingness to cooperate.

"Wonderful," Magneto commented and turned to his three associates, "How are the plans going?"

Mystique smiled slightly. "According to plan," she said, "I put a handful on surveillance – it shouldn't be long now."

Magneto nodded. Pyro gave Rogue a smile that clearly said 'I'm happy you're here'; Rogue returned that smile with a small wink.

Rogue felt a moment pass between her and Pyro but it was soon over as Magneto spoke again. A while later, she felt someone's hand gently touch hers even though it was only in an instant she was about to pull away but the surge became too strong and her hand glued itself onto Pyro's. She looked into his face as the colour drained from his face, but he didn't yell out of pain or look nauseous. He looked her right into the eyes as she saw the effects of her power come over Pyro more and more and it seemed as if his thoughts blended together with her own.

_This is what I can do._

Then, Pyro pulled away, gasping for breath. But he wasn't scared. He never had been. Rogue smiled wickedly and felt how the feeling of his hand on hers lingered in her fingers. It had been nice.

_I can control you._

It had only lasted about a second, but it was good. She felt… free.

"I'm glad you've developed a taste for your powers, Rogue," Magneto interrupted, greatly amused. "It's good."

For the rest of the meeting, Rogue felt Pyro's eyes on her.

-------

After the meeting, Rogue left the room. She could feel Pyro looking at her and she knew he was following her. Her powers were such a high and she wasn't even sure if she'd returned from it yet. The voices in her head were telling her so many different things but she felt so… intrigued by her own ability. She went into her new room, in their base of operation.

He was still following her.

Good.

Rogue left the room open and only seconds later it closed with a bang. She felt her body being pressed up against a wall and soon she felt Pyro's lips on her own. A part of her was completely calm, hoping that he'd hold just a little while longer, another was deadly terrified of what might happen. Rogue's headache returned but she ignored it.

It didn't matter anymore. Touch was the only thing that mattered.

Quick hard, kisses were exchanged, Pyro holding on just a little bit longer. "It's such a high," he whispered between the kisses and Rogue couldn't help but agree as she tried to touch him, skin against skin, as much as possible.

"Do you have a death wish?" Rogue replied, breathless between the kisses, a pleasure that had been denied for so long.

"If this is death," Pyro said and his lips touched with hers again, "I'm embracing it."

As if someone pulled a switch, Marie pushed him away. The headache was worse than before. It felt as if someone was screaming inside her head. Her face twisted into a strange expression of pain. She was breathing quickly and she felt the terror re-enter her body.

"What the-" she exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing!"

Pyro stared at her, confused and in disbelief, he wiped his lip and his eyes stared at hers. "What I'm doing? You weren't exactly doing nothing."

Marie didn't want to hear this. She shook her head. _Bobby. Oh my god, what had she done to Bobby?_ She started to pace back and forth and she felt Pyro growing anxious.

"Do you really want to die?" Marie finally pressed out, stopping with her pacing, studying his face again.

-------

Magneto sat by his desk as Pyro walked through the door, looking displeased. Magneto didn't need to be psychic to sense Pyro's anger and somehow the mere fact that Pyro was angry, amused him a great deal.

"What's the matter?" he asked, not taking his eyes off his documents, there were so many preparations to be made.

"She's insane," Pyro commented angrily, placing himself next to Magneto's right side as he'd been taught, the anger radiating off him.

Magneto didn't even need to ask who he meant. "Don't you feel like 'insane' is a bit of a overkill?" He signed a document, putting it in the pile together with the others.

Pyro sighed, "No, she's…. like two people," he finished, Magneto felt Pyro looking at him as if he held answers.

These were good news. Very good news.

"Your friend Rogue has some exceptional power," he said, "Very rare. Very powerful. But also greatly flawed. She absorbs a person's life energy, as you know, but with it, she takes pieces of these people with her. And I suspect that right now, her head is becoming very crowded."

Magneto took his eyes up from his papers and looked up at Pyro, feeling another smile come across his face. He'd just got a really good idea. "Which is why we are going to help her."

-------

Pyro wasn't sure about this. He held the needle in his hand, feeling as if he was trespassing, making some gigantic mistake, as he stood in the doorway to Rogue's bedroom. _But she's about as reliable as the weather, _he thought, _And she could ruin everything._

Pyro walked up to her bed, happy that she didn't wake up – that she wouldn't see this. He looked at her calm features. She looked so peaceful, so _normal_ – could she really… Pyro sighed. He really cared about her, but he had no choice.

Without further thought, Pyro pressed the needle into Rogue's arm, letting the liquid spread out into her bloodstream. _It was for her own good._


	8. Save Your Rottening Soul

**Notes:** So, I had my birthday three days ago and most of the craziness is gone. I'm busy with cleaning my room (you can never guess how rarely that is) so I haven't updated for a while. But voila, here I am with a new chapter. I hope you have waited long enough. Is there anything to say about this chapter? Well, we get to know what Pyro did to Rogue in the previous chapter And there is going to be more emotional angst in the end of this chapter and the coming one. I hope. Anyways, reviews are always welcome. Have a great day.

* * *

Marie woke up slowly, yawning – feeling extremely tired. But the sight that welcomed here was not her bedroom ceiling. It was grey metal. Marie felt the panic surge through her and she looked around, going from side to side in a matter of seconds. 

She realized she was in restrains. She saw Magneto, Mystique and Pyro look at her. Magneto looked oddly calm, Mystique looked greatly amused and Pyro looked as if he was terribly sick.

"What's going on!" Marie almost yelled in panic, "What are you doing?"

She tried to break her restrains but there was no luck. They were so tightly put against her wrists that she couldn't even move her arm. Marie felt tears starting to form in her eyes – she didn't want anything bad to happen to her…

"Please…" she begged, looking directly into Pyro's eyes, but he looked away as if he was burned by her gaze.

"We're helping you," Magneto explained, his voice extremely alike the one he'd used on Liberty Island. Horrible flashbacks went through Marie's mind and she wondered what exactly had gone through her mind when she'd decided to join Magneto. "We're easing your pain."

Suddenly a forth person appeared, just above her, looking down on her. The man's eyes were bloodshot red and his skin was ghostly white. "This won't hurt," the man said with a grin and as his hands went over her templates – pain shook through Marie's head and caused her to scream in deep pain.

Everything went black.

--------

Pyro watched, as if he was in a trance, as the psychic Magneto brought to the camp, put his hands over Rogue's templates, closing his eyes and concentrated on his task. Pyro felt a strange knot in his stomach as Rogue started screaming and twitching in pain but after a few minutes, she became numb as a salmon. For a moment, Pyro wondered if the procedure had killed her. Magneto had said it was a possibility…

His fears were calmed when the psychic flew two feet back and Rogue opened her eyes. Pyro saw no sign of the old Rogue in her eyes. In there were only power, anger, confidence. He could see a certain resemblance of Magneto, himself and that fur ball Wolverine in her, as she walked up to them, a Magneto like smile on her lips.

"Rogue," Magneto greeted, "Feeling better, I trust?"

"Much." Rogue replied.

Her voice was as cold as ice.

----------

Rogue focused all her thoughts on Pyro, who moved on the other side of the circle, moving left if she did. Her fingers tingled as they promised her a good fight. She felt a pleasant chill go through her body. This was going to be good. Rogue looked at the arrangement that held a lighter in her hands. This was going to be interesting…

As if on a given signal – Pyro attacked. His lighter flicked and a huge rain of fire came from her hand. Rogue smirked. _Nice trick, but not as good as this._

Rogue pushed her hand forward, ice coming from her hands, meeting the fire, freezing it. Pyro watched as his wall of fire broke into small ice crystals. Rogue felt extremely content when she saw the extremely anger and jealous look in Pyro's eyes. He didn't know Bobby had touched her too.

"Nice trick you got there," Pyro bit out, seeing red. Without another word he leaped forward, sending a ring of fire around her. Rogue took a second to admire the fire. Pretty.

Then she raised her hand, plainly forward and with a click, Pyro's lighter flew from his hands and landed in Rogue's. She didn't see it, but her eyes turned black. Then with a wave from the other hand, the ice destroyed the fire.

There was a small round of applauds, she looked up and saw Magneto and Mystique looking at them. "Very impressive, Rogue," Magneto complimented, "Not that Pyro isn't capable – he is very capable - but since you already have his powers, I imagine he would be a quite easy opponent," Magneto moved aside to leave room for Mystique, "Let's see how you handle Mystique here."

Rogue smirked as Mystique closed up, both moving quite gracefully in their own way. Rogue felt a spark of interest in this fight. She'd seen Mystique in fight and she fought quite gracefully. Mystique and Rogue bowed to each other, as they did before a fight in martial arts. It was a nice gesture between equals. Even though they were equal in different ways, Rogue felt a slight doubt about this match.

Mystique was an expert in physical encounters while she never had, despite of all her powers, quite mastered that skill. Mystique did not take a second but immediately raced forward towards Rogue. Rouge lifted her hand and sent a huge fire, sending it directly in Mystique's direction.

---------

Magneto watched as Mystique trained up Rogue to learn how to control her powers. It was an interesting match indeed; the women were quite equal in skill but different areas which created a good fighting dynamic. Even though Rogue had all these powers Mystique was having the slight upper hand in this fight.

Every time that Rogue used his own power, he couldn't help but smile. He'd almost forgotten that she was that scared little girl at Liberty Island all those years ago. That little teenager was nothing compared to this… woman.

He knew that he had quite insulted Pyro when he'd suggested the change of opponents but the boy needed to learn that not everything was about him. There was a tension between them, yes, but it didn't work well in fighting. Pyro seemed unfocused and distracted and if this had been a real fight, Pyro would've been seriously wounded. Distraction was not a good companion to have in war.

--------

Logan was kicking it in the Danger Room when suddenly all the power went out and his scenario disappeared faster than he could blink. He looked around himself, seeing if someone had interrupted it on purpose, but there was no one there. Suddenly he heard an explosion come from above. Wolverine's senses were alerted and before Logan had a chance to catch his breath, he was hurrying himself upstairs.

When he got up to the entry hall, he saw the entire hallway and living room was a mess, pieces of the wall which once stood there every where and dust flying around the air. As he reached the stairs he stopped dead in his tracks.

His eyes attached themselves to one point in the entire room and he felt the power drain from him entirely. It felt as if he was about to shake and his blood froze.

Rogue.

Rogue stood there, in the flesh, much alive.

It took Logan a while to realize just where she was standing. He noticed that Pyro stood right next to her together with Magneto and Mystique. Suddenly he heard steps from afar. Bobby, Storm and the rest of the students came to his side before he had a chance to warn them.

It was as if time stood still. Some let out surprised gasps of shock and horror as Magneto, Mystique, Pyro and Rogue entered through the school's newly made entrance.

--------

Bobby watched, his brain not quite functioning, as Rogue moved with _them_, in cold grace, looking around at the walls, touching things. He noticed that she wasn't wearing her gloves. Bobby looked at Wolverine, extremely worried, only to see that Wolverine was no comfort to him now. He looked as if he looked as if he was gazing on a ghost.

Bobby's blood became cold as he watched how Pyro whispered something in Rogue's ear, she laughed coldly and touched the base of Pyro's neck. It was like a bad movie, only filled with too much slow motion and too much horror. Bobby watched as the colour drained from Pyro and the close to insane look at the both of them, and noted that neither Magneto nor Mystique acted as if this was something out of the ordinary. The horror, anger and jealousy bubbled within Bobby so strongly that he thought he'd explode.

Rogue let go of Pyro and smiled contently. Just then her eyes met his and Bobby realized:

The power had consumed her.


	9. The End of What You Know

**Notes**: Internet is slower than death right now, so therefore I has taken me about a week. Also, a growing obsession in the Doctor Who fandom hasn't helped much. Also, I noticed that people haven't read so much lately, or as actively before. Is there anything that needs to be changed or makes you stop reading or is it just that it's that time of year and you don't have time? Anyways, this chapter, contains another little twist-y thing. I hope you'll enjoy it and that you all have a fantastic day/night/tomorrow. Feedback is good for the soul :)

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"My dear friends," Magneto greeted them sarcastically, once he had assured that no one would fight back. He had half an army behind him, keeping all the students and teachers under check. Storm lay unconscious against the wall next to Kitty Pryde. "How nice to see you all again." The sarcasm lay thick in the air and Wolverine snorted. 

Magneto felt extremely pleased as the feeling of success came over him. Even if he lost here, it would've been worth it. They'd neutered him, robbed him of his identity. Robbed him of himself. They got what they deserved.

The shocked expressions when they'd entered and seen that brown haired God like creature in the hallway had been priceless. His revenge had been complete. He'd kicked them where they were weak, and he was taking full advantage.

He saw how Wolverine and the man that could control ice never took their eyes of Rogue as she walked around, quite enjoying herself. They seemed to be in the worst kind of shock through it all. Their eyes were huge and all they'd had to do to get them on the floor with the rest was push them.

They didn't resist.

Magneto looked over Mystique. Yes, things were finally looking out for them. Their struggle would soon be a reality. Pyro looked as if he was on top of the world, sometimes he stopped and kicked some random student, whispering. The boy was so filled with anger and such an extraordinary power. Perfect.

---------

Rogue watched all these people, not really able to picture of any of them, but a few of them seemed strangely familiar. She enjoyed feeling their fear and she could say that this was the happiest day of her life. _All of my struggles have leaded me up to this moment._

This was the day. The resistance would be broken. The humans would be left defenceless. This was the day, worthy to remember.

Rogue felt restless. She wanted blood, she wanted to scare them. To kick them. To feel their lives drain. These people were weak, no better than humans. Evil. Animals. Memories of people putting her down, laughing at her, calling her names came into her head. Although they weren't hers – they were someone else's.

She stopped in front of a man she recognized. She titled her head, trying to place him. She remembered him. Memory loss. Claws. Incredible anger. Incredible sadness. On pure impulse, she leaned so close to him she could feel his scent and then a pair of metal claws shot through her hand, less than an inch from touching the man's throat. Rogue felt the incredible pain and screamed in surprise. _It hurt._

Once the shock stopped, she looked into his eyes and smiled.

--------

Logan didn't know who she was. She looked like Marie, but she didn't walk like her, she didn't talk like her – she didn't even act like her. Marie's eyes had been beautiful and filled with colour – these were black with power and rage. Everything he hated within himself saluted her as a power – a goddess, but the rest of him resented her – wanting nothing more than to have the troublesome teenager back.

Once _his_ claws came out of _her_ hands, he knew. Her mutation. It had taken control of her. _Like Jean,_ a voice within him said, _And like her, you'll have to kill her._

The tears ran down Logan's cheeks as he saw this broken form of life – kick and hurt people around her. She wasn't Marie. But he knew Marie was somewhere under there, somewhere underneath. But he didn't understand.

Marie was strong. Why did she let this thing control her?

---------

Bobby saw in horror as Wolverine's claws came out of Rogue. What the hell was happening? She was supposed to be dead, although he always did have his doubts about that fact. Rogue would never go down without a fight, but now it seemed as if she'd just surrendered.

He looked as Wolverine growled and how he looked at Magneto, the hate radiating from his eyes. "What did you do with her?" Bobby heard him growl.

Magneto chuckled, waving Rogue to him with his left index finger. "Funny you should ask, Wolverine," he said contently, "We just helped her a bit."

Rogue smiled wickedly, keeping her eyes on Wolverine, challenging him. Bobby didn't know what was going on. His eyes went on Pyro, who stood, watching the entire interaction with an amused smirk on his face. How he wanted to erase that smirk permanently from his face…

Then Logan noticed how Rogue turned to a light shade of green, holding her forehead for a moment as if it hurt, but then recomposing herself, looking better than ever. Sort of.

"He's controlling her," Storm groaned, regaining consciousness, "Putting up mental blocks in her brain – keeping Marie to fight back. All the people she absorbed power from… they are all inside her head." Storm groaned in pain and Kitty gently caressed her forehead.

"So Magneto is pretty much doing the same thing with Rogue as the Professor did with the Phoenix?" Wolverine asked.

Storm groaned again. "Something like that."

Bobby looked at Wolverine, feeling as if something important had just been told. "What does that mean?" he asked, hoping that there were someway to break Rogue free.

Wolverine didn't look at him, but kept his eyes on Rogue – his eyes filling with tears. "It means, kid," he said, his voice fragile, "That your girlfriend is toast."

Suddenly, Bobby wished he never asked.

-------

Magneto turned to Mystique and Rogue, nodding at them. "Find them." Mystique nodded and morphed into the Professor. Mystique sent a wink to the scared students who sat down along the wall. Rogue smirked, looking at Mystique and as she turned around she sent a last glance in Wolverine's and Bobby's direction.

Magneto then returned to the pawns behind them. Pyro had his back, watching the students as he turned around to speak to the soldiers. "Mutants," his encouragement was met with a cheer and he paused for a moment till the cheer died out, "In a moment, we'll get what we came for," he was interrupted by Mystique and Rogue return, the women holding a huge box in their hands. Then he, Mystique, Rogue, Pyro and a few of the followers started to walk towards the exit. Suddenly Magneto stopped and threw a command over his shoulder:

"Burn it to the ground."

As they walked out of from the school area there was a crash and Magneto could hear the distance sound of a huge fire. Pyro sent a little addition to the fire from where he stood. Magneto took a deep breath.

This was what it all had come down to.

---------

Logan opened his eyes slowly, the smell of burnt wood and smoke lay thick in the air, reminding him of what Magneto had done to the school. Memories of their attack, washed to his memory, some scenes he wish he'd forgotten. He threw the rocks that laid over him aside, coughed because of the smoke and started to look for survivors. He had no idea where anyone was. He'd lost track of Bobby during the fight, Storm he hadn't even seen. He'd heard students screaming, fighting dying and he knew most of them had probably died. As he stood there, the lone survivor, looking out on all the destruction he felt once again the curse of his own mutation. Always being the only one that stood up after a fight. Always being the only one who survived.

He heard a cough somewhere in the distant, a weak cough somewhere beneath a mass of wood. He ran to the source of the sound, carefully placing the wood beside her, not wanting to throw it upon another student. The face of Kitty Pryde appeared.

"Hey," she coughed, groaning, bleeding from her template little, "Help me up?" She asked weakly, clinging to his collar.

Having the short girl clinging to him, made Logan think of how lucky she was to be alive and for all he knew, she was the only survivor. "Yeah, sure," he pressed out, walking out with her from the mess that was previously known as Xavier's School and put her in the grass, where she was safe.

"I'm going to look for the others," he informed her as he started running back to the ruins.

The death, the destruction, it all made him feel sick to this bones. He was so tired of it, even though he couldn't remember much from his previous life, it seemed as if death and pain always were companions to him.

He found Storm, who took her last remaining forces to let the smoke ease, before slipping back into an unconscious state. "Not everyone has your powers, Logan," she whispered softly as she drifted into her sleep.

Logan felt as if his chest was eight hundred times heavier as he pulled student after student from the ruins. Bobby had survived, so had a handful others as well but most had died during the attack or they had run away to their own safety.

Then, when there were no more bodies to collect, the sun was setting above them and Logan looked with helpless eyes on the tragedy in front of him. Some of them were dying, some were mending and some wouldn't be alright unless they got medical attention. Logan looked up to the sky. Or they would freeze to death.

What was he going to do? He was the only one fit to work, and there wasn't a shelter anywhere he could use to protect the wounded from the cold that the night promised. Usually, he'd bail out of these situations, but he couldn't just leave them here…

For the first time since he'd killed Jean, Logan felt a tear run down his cheek.

_What was he going to do now?_

---------

Mystique laughed, her eyes glittering as they looked through the files they'd collected from Xavier's office. Magneto shared an occasional story with them, but said not much. In fact, no one said anything, everyone wrapped up in their own thoughts. Mystique felt as if she wanted to celebrate, she'd loved every second to see Wolverine break down when he'd seen Rogue appear there. The man was without argument, extremely attractive, but nothing made Mystique happier than to push his buttons.

Suddenly Rogue stopped looking through the files and took her hand to her forehead, groaning in pain.

"Dammit!" She cursed, catching everyone's attention, "That bitch needs to stop fighting so damn much."

Magneto smiled. "She's unwilling to just give her body away, Rogue, as are you. Do you want me to get-"

"No," Rogue interrupted, sending Magneto a glare, "I've had enough of his fiddling in my brain."

Mystique sighed. "Without him, you aren't strong enough to keep control over your own body," she explained, "You are strong, yes, but _she_ was in there first, and therefore she still has a bit more to say what's happening to her body."

Rogue glared. "It's _my_ body. Not hers." Suddenly Rogue screamed in pain, cursing again and falling backwards. Almost on a given signal, Pyro was on her side, helping her up. Mystique was disgusted. _Pyro has a little teenage crush. How absolutely wonderful for the both of them._

In her opinion, teenagers were incredibly naïve and they had no idea what love was. Her eyes subconsciously drifted to Magneto, who sat by his desk, sorting more files. _Love was forgiving._

--------

Logan sat down on the grass. He gave up. He couldn't do miracles – he couldn't find a shelter or heal the ones that were injured. All he could go was watch. And pray to God that someone came along to pick his eyes out and rip away his hearing.

His hearing picked up a few steps from afar, Logan turned around, drawling out his claws in case there was someone that wanted a fight, because he didn't recognize the scent. There was a middle age man, standing a few metres away, barely no hair, dressed in an outfit two sizes too small. The man looked over the ruins as he calmly walked closer to Logan.

Logan growled, figured it was better to give this dude some heads up. Logan was about to attack, when something stopped him, almost paralyzing as he stood.

_Don't worry, Logan. Everything is going to be all right._

Logan stared in disbelief as the man closed in, seeing no sign that it indeed was Xavier besides the voice in his head. It was impossible, illogical – he'd seen Xavier die before his own eyes. No one could've survived it. Not even someone as powerful as Xavier.

_I understand you have doubts, Logan. I would have too, but this is not the time for answers. Tell me, how many are wounded?_

Logan sighed; he couldn't do much for them anyway. If he didn't trust this stranger for being who he said he was, they would all die anyhow. "Twenty-five survivors; thirteen seriously wounded, three dying and the rest unconscious."

He could hear Xavier sigh in his mind. _That's barely even a full class._

Logan turned to the bodies, looking at each of them for a moment, and then looking back at the stranger. "Are you going to stand there or are you going to help us? Whoever you are."

_All in good time, Logan._

--------

Xavier showed Logan different entrances to secret spaces he'd built underground just for these kinds of crisis. The medical help was far from perfect with no doctor around, but it seemed as if everyone recovered surprisingly quickly from their wounds. Colossus and Kitty were one of the first to be up and about, helping Logan and Xavier getting the others well. Soon after that Storm recovered, still shaken up but well considering the circumstances.

She hugged Xavier closely when she saw him again, not even bothering to wait for Logan's introduction. "Charles," she said softly, "How is this possible?"

Storm smiled, for the first time in a very long time as Xavier explained how he could be standing there. Telling them about how he transferred his conscious self into the body of a coma patient, in order to survive. A sad feature came across Xavier's face as they, in their turn, told them about Rogue, Jean and everything that had happened while he was away.

"Sorry it took me so long," Xavier apologized, "But fighting for control was surprisingly difficult, and getting released from the hospital took forever. Turns out that this man was just about to be harvested for organs so the doctors were torn between anger and accepting the miracle." He didn't smile even though his tone was light and friendly.

Logan felt the pit of his stomach again as the images of Rogue working with Magneto once again entered his mind for the thousandth time. "What are we going to do about Rogue?"

Xavier sighed, thinking deeply. "It's an extremely tricky situation. Even more so, now that Magneto has blocked Marie out from her own mind. For all we know, it might already be too late, since we aren't sure of how long Magneto has been in control over her body-"

"So you're saying it's like Magneto's evil twin that's lurking inside Marie?" Logan interrupted, anxious for answers.

"Not at all," Xavier explained, "Magneto's essence came into Marie's a long time ago, while being there it has learned to adapt itself to its surroundings, making it act similar to Magneto but yet creating its own identity since Marie is not only under Magneto's influence. She'd under the influence of everyone she's ever touched. You, Logan, Bobby, Pyro… So many people and she doesn't have the strength to keep them away all the time."

"What happens if we do nothing?" Storm asked.

A mournful expression came over Xavier. "If we have fate with us, we could break down Magneto's block and she'll continue to live on – not completely cured but better than now. If we are too late, her brain could crash from the pressure and enormous activity going around in her brain, reducing her brain functions to almost nothing. She could recover from that, but you'd need more than a miracle to save her from that. And, if we are extremely unfortunate, none of our attempts will be successful and we'd," Xavier paused, thinking the unthinkable, "have to do what we need to do."

Logan noted that right now, Kitty and Colossus looked extremely guilty and ashamed. He felt partly as if they had themselves to blame and partly he knew exactly what they were feeling. So much had been going on and he hadn't even noticed that Marie was slipping away until someone had taken full advantage and it might be too late.

"What was it that Magneto took?" Storm asked later, "Logan saw them carry out a huge box, looked as though there were files in them."

Xavier's face froze. "Oh no…" he said, suddenly looking greatly disturbed, "Are you sure there were files? Did you see where they went?" Logan shook his head.

Xavier sighed, looking about eight years older and suddenly very defeated. "Magneto's going to go after my students," he said, "All of them. Every single one. What he took was the student records, probably searching for the students with most power. Either to recruit to his cause or to fill Rogue with their abilities."

"Why would Magneto care about Rogue?" Kitty asked, completely confused over how serious it seemed. She'd never thought of Rogue as powerful; perhaps not even fully understand how dangerous she really was.

"With Rogue," Logan said, "He'd have his own killing machine. She'd be filled with all these powers, becoming almost unstoppable-"

"He's making a new Phoenix." Storm said and her eyes wide as if she saw the horror in what's to come.

Suddenly, Logan felt extremely sick.


	10. Devil's Reunion

**Notes:** I hope you are all enjoying your summer to the fullest. Myself, I've started working so I've been pretty exhausted, so it has taken me a while to update this story. I hope you will all enjoy this chapter. I think this together with the next one are my personal favourite. Maybe. Not sure. Anyways, I hope you all see this as a little summer treat to you all. The story has a bit to go yet, but I've decided to make a trilogy of this story. More information about it will come in the finale chapters. Also, I always love reviews so feel free to give me anything for a review. Even if it's just 'good story' or something. I'm like many, completely addicted to reviews and find them extremely useful. But it's your choice :) I hope you enjoy this chapter and are having a wonderful summer.

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The next day, Bobby regained consciousness. At first, everything seemed perfect – he'd lived, Xavier had survived but then he realized that there was this extreme tension in the air wherever he went. Kitty or Peter didn't say anything – besides saying that they didn't know what he was talking about and he felt fairly certain that they were lying. Not even Wolverine answered his questions properly. 

He sighed. Rogue was his girlfriend; he deserved to know what was going on. It wasn't like Rogue was some random woman he'd picked up in a bar somewhere, he genuinely cared about her. Eventually, Bobby decided to go and talk to the Professor.

"Eh," Bobby started as he walked into the small crappy space that had become Xavier's office, "Professor-"

As Xavier turned around Bobby felt that it was strange not to see him in a wheelchair. The only thing that assured him that Xavier was who he said he was was the calm and instant protection that Xavier seemed to spread around himself whenever he was near. Even though things were probably more serious now than what they had been weeks ago, Bobby had never felt safer in a long while.

"Yes, Bobby?" Xavier wondered, probably already knowing what he was going to say, but waited for Bobby to speak on his own terms.

"They won't tell me anything," Bobby sighed, making a hopeless gesture outside the door to show that he meant Wolverine, Storm and the others. He felt partly like a child for coming to Xavier with such a minor problem even though the Professor had probably bigger things on his mind. But he had to know.

"Things are not looking good for Rogue."

---------

Pyro studied Rogue across the table. He wasn't quite sure he liked this "improved" Rogue compared to what she was before. She might have been broken, but therein laid what Pyro liked about her. When she was this better Rogue, she often played on his feelings, making the reality painfully aware that he rather would just want to forget. When she was normal, he could at least pretend that she didn't know.

He sighed. He hated having these _feelings_ for her (god how lame it sounded) and he hated the fact that he cared if she cared. He hated her. He hated everyone like her – snobbish teenagers who always got what they wanted – who always fitted in and always had everyone liking them in an instant.

He didn't want to be everyone, he wanted to hate her.

Rogue looked up, meeting his gaze and he felt the hatred for himself only grow stronger as she sent him a smile across the table. She was like a siren from the Greek mythology – but instead of making sailors crash against rocks – she lured him in and played with him. He disliked her for it but could not quite hate her. Therefore he hated himself.

He returned to study Rogue. He really liked the way her hair fell when she tilted her head like that and he loved how dark her voice sounded with that accent of hers. Alluring, tempting. He watched in horror as Mystique and Rogue shared a glance between them as if they'd just shared an inside joke. He'd never understand women. He thought Mystique hated people on principle but it seemed as if she and Rogue were bonding in some freaky… ironic way.

It had taken them almost two days to get through these files, sorting out everyone who stood on a power level under four. Pyro felt a slight contentment wash over him as he put his own file into the one that selected above level three students.

He bent his head down, searching for Bobby's file.

----------

"I just picked up a signal from Rogue, while using Cerebro. It appears that she is hiding in an old military bunker. Chances are that Magneto and Mystique are with them. It's difficult to determine just how many there are, since the location makes the tracking extremely difficult." Xavier informed as he gathered all of the ones that had been picked out for this assignment – the strongest ones – the ones that had healed the quickest.

Himself. Logan. Storm. Bobby. Kitty. Peter. They weren't many, but they didn't have much choice. If they were to fight Magneto and Rogue, they had to use everyone they could get.

"One thing I don't understand," Storm said, sitting on a chair across the Professor's desk, "Why would Magneto go through all this trouble? Why Rogue? What does he want? I'm sure there are mutants out there with powers more adapt for this kind of using. This goes a little bit deeper than just a bruised ego."

Xavier thought for a moment. "I'm not sure what Magneto's plan is, but considering the timing he has, I doubt its political. But I do not think it concerns Rogue. I think he merely met her by chance – you said she ran away, didn't you? Believe me when I say that Erik has a way with words. I believe Rogue was just a lucky chance – fate finally smiling in his favour. You have to understand, Magneto is a very complex person. Even I, after all these years of knowing him, and my ability, still have trouble understanding him. He is about as reliable as a hurricane."

"So what are we going to do?" Logan wondered, "What's our objective?"_Hopefully kill the son of a bitch._

"Our objective is to catch Rogue and bring her back here. I need to make some tests to see her chance of survival. Also, you need to find those documents." Xavier felt Bobby's and Logan's nausea at the idea that Marie might not live through this and his thoughts were with them.

"But they are going to see us coming, aren't they?" Kitty wondered, "I mean… they would have her under pretty high security. At least, that's what I'd do. – If I were him."

Xavier nodded. "Perhaps, but that's a chance we have to take."

---------

They located the bunker somewhere in the middle of the woods, not seen from above. Outside everything was silent besides the birds that whispered their tunes in almost hushed voices. Logan looked around at the surroundings, feeling the irony not quite escaping him as he walked out of the jet. He looked behind him, seeing the rest of them following him.

"How much further?" Logan asked, pushing the issue of what the was when they actually got there as far away from his mind as possible.

Xavier looked around, probably smelling their minds or something. "About a mile from here." Logan nodded and made a wave to make sure everyone followed him.

Bobby rushed to his side, looking at him with blaming eyes as Logan struggled to ignore his presence and keep on walking. "Why didn't you tell me?" Bobby demanded, his eyes fixed on Logan's, demanding answers. Not accepting being ignored.

"'Cause, kid," Logan said, sighing, "I didn't think you could handle it. You need to keep your head in the game."

"You're not my father, so stop making decisions for me what I can't and cannot do." With that, he packed away – leaving Logan alone in the front but Logan could feel Bobby's eyes on him as they continued to walk.

---------

"Rogue, are you feeling all right?" Pyro wondered, sitting down next to her as she was having another of her episodes.

Rogue groaned, holding her hands to her head, rocking back and forth. "If you call that mind fiddler over here, John. _I will kill you_." Somehow, Pyro didn't doubt her.

He swallowed, feeling powerless over the fact that he could do nothing to help her. He looked around the room as if he searched for answers. "Do you want me to-"

"NO!" Rogue yelled, falling back against the floor, moaning in pain. "I'm _fine_," she bit out as she tried to keep the other people inside her head at bay. Not very successful though. Everyone was _screaming_.

Pyro sighed. "Is there something I can do?" Pyro felt the hatred for himself come back as he realized he had just offered to help her and that he'd put himself out there for her to break. Then, his heart broke when he heard Rogue laugh coldly, as if she was saying 'What could you do'

As Rogue started to fall deeper into a sleep because her energy level was low, Pyro tilted her head upwards and put a pillow under her head. He brushed some of her brown hair away and squeezed her hand softly. _I could take care of you. If you let me._

Sometimes, he hated himself for caring.

------------

Bobby felt as if they'd been walking forever when they finally stopped and found themselves gazing at what was said to be the hide out of Magneto. Bobby couldn't help but sigh and feel an incredible sadness wash over him as he stood there. _This was it_, his mind told him, but he couldn't help but feel a slight doubt wash over him, feeling as if – in a way – everything had been too easy.

He looked over to Peter, Kitty, Xavier, Storm and Wolverine, they were mentally preparing for the battle. "We can't stay out here long," Wolverine said sharply, catching everyone's attention, "They'll see us," he explained as he walked up to the bunker.

Bobby took a deep breath. So this really was it. Was it? Bobby quickly followed Wolverine and the others, not quite getting Wolverine's pained expression out of his thoughts. Why did he get the feeling as if something bad was going to happen?

---------

Magneto watched, as the intrusion alarm went off by the entrance. He didn't need to guess who had come, but he was more than shocked that they had located him. He looked over at Mystique, who caught on his thought-train, getting up from his desk, rushing outside to see what the problem was.

Magneto felt a slight stir in his stomach as he heard the X-Men fighting somewhere far away. Something was wrong. How could they have recaptured their strength so quickly?

Without thinking more, Magneto rushed from his desk, leaving the last documents behind on the desk. He had to mind to those later. In the hallway, he met with Pyro, looking just as puzzled as he felt. "What's going on?" Magneto noticed that his voice was slightly tired, as if someone had drained him from his energies.

"They're breaking in," Magneto said, walking with quick steps towards the entrance, making himself ready to fight them. Pyro followed, slightly behind him.

Suddenly, Rogue appeared by his side. "They're here, aren't they?"

Magneto nodded.

"Let's finish them off, shall we?" Magneto wondered, giving Rogue a playful smile, then turning his attention back to where the fighting came from.

---------

Logan watched as Mystique and about a dozen other armed mutants came to the entrance, seconds after they've broken through. Apparently, they did have high security. He drew out his claws, growling little because of the stinging pain they caused. Mystique smiled at him, playfully, and then as if on a given signal, the mutants with Mystique first in line, attacked.

At first it was all claws, growl and hit whoever you hit, but after a while, Logan got used to the chaos, and could distinguish his team from theirs. Logan pushed his claws through the fifth mutant but then it was as if time stood still. Magneto, Pyro and Rogue walked through the door, at first only gazing at the fight.

"Only attack the strong ones", Magneto ordered Rogue, who nodded, understanding his orders.

Wolverine made himself ready, throwing the mutant aside, ready to attack, but then he heard Xavier's voice inside his head. _Don't, Logan. Go and get the files. His office shouldn't be far away._

Wolverine glared at Magneto, his eyes travelling to Rogue, feeling the anger boil inside his blood. He heard someone attacking him from behind and then he just straightened out his arm, letting the mutant run into his claws, all on his own accord. He saw Storm starting to fight Magneto, Pyro sending extreme amounts of fire towards Bobby and then he saw Xavier step out from the crowds, looking at Magneto.

Magneto froze, completely shocked as if he recognized him. Storm paused, for whatever reason and Logan saw Magneto's lips moving.

---------

"_Charles,_" he heard himself whisper. This was… impossible and yet… so very brilliant. Ignoring Storm, Magneto stepped down, to meet his old friend in the middle of the crowd.

_Hello, Erik, _the familiar voice told him and Magneto couldn't help but feel slightly happy that his old friend, after all, hadn't died. _Nice to see you._

"Nice to see you too, Charles," Magneto replied, smiling slightly, "I must say, I thought you were against this sort of thing," He made a pointing look towards Charles' new body.

_Sometimes you need to do things you don't like in order to survive – you if anyone should know that._

"Then you should understand what it is I'm doing here," Magneto commented dryly, letting his eyes travel over the fight.

To the mere eye, this seemed like one of the most bizarre conversations, in the middle of a war, but the real fight wasn't in body – it was in mind. Charles tried to go through Magneto's helmet, while Magneto tried his best to keep Charles away, all very calmly of course. Having known the psychic for as long as he had, gave Magneto certain advantages.

_I don't understand what it is you're doing here, Erik. Why burn down the school?_

_Revenge is something you'll never understand, Charles, so don't stress yourself trying to. These people robbed me of everything I had. Everything. They must pay._

_And the girl… what about her? Shouldn't she pay too?_

_Rogue is paying, paying the ultimate price. Yes, Charles, I know what will happen to her if this madness continues. The only reason I didn't kill her was because her existence served me in a much more efficient way. She's weakening the others – especially the Wolverine – which works in my favour._

_Once a chess player, always a chess player – isn't it so, Erik?_

-------

Pyro stared in fury at Bobby. The idiot had frozen his hands and knocked him unconscious. The only thing that had saved him had been the good heart of a mutant who had picked him up and ran away with him before it'd been too late. Pyro had heard that trauma made some people keener to help others, but he'd never seen it before.

The anger boiled within him, working in his advantage. For his powers to work best, he needed to be in tune with his feelings, unlike Bobby who needed to control them. "You killed me," he hissed as he closed up to Bobby, replaying the last seconds of the previous fight. But this time he knew he wouldn't be knocked unconscious.

"I don't see your dead body anywhere," Bobby groaned, trying to push away the fire around him.

"Well, you would've if someone hadn't picked me up," Pyro said, the hatred coming to the surface, "You are suppose to be the one with all the morals, right? What did they say about killing your best friend?"

Bobby made a grimace of pain, "You're not my friend anymore. That sort of stopped when you betrayed all of us."

Pyro saw Bobby's eyes drift away from his own. He didn't even need to look to see where he was looking. He wanted to piss Bobby off. "Pretty little thing, isn't she?" Pyro commented, playing the bad ass, although feeling as if he'd just poured acid into his own stomach, "Good kisser, but you would know all about that, wouldn't you?"

Bobby's eyes snapped back to Pyro's, the horror and anger mixed all together. Pyro laughed. "Hell of a kick you get when she touches you, isn't it?"

If Pyro didn't know better, he'd swear he just heard Bobby growl.

--------

Wolverine's adrenalin rushed through his body as he ran to Magneto's office. He didn't exactly know where Magneto had his office, but all he needed to do was so smell to see where most of his smell was attached. Wolverine stopped for a second as he felt Marie's scent fill his nostrils, mixed together with Pyro's and the nausea washed over him again. Wolverine shook his head, no time for it right now, continuing to search for Magneto's office.

He ripped the door open, much correctly, seeing that it was an office. He rushed to the desk, seeing a few files already on it, he glanced through them, seeing pictures and random words attach itself to his mind. He closed the files and took them into his hand. These had to be the files that Xavier was talking about.

Wolverine started to rip the drawers open, searching for more of the documents but he couldn't find them. _Where were they?_

Moving away from the desk, Wolverine opened the lockers, throwing out its content in search for the rest of the files, finding nothing. He heard steps approaching quickly in the background, steps that belonged to the home team.

_Dammit!_

Logan stopped looking, giving up, laying the files in his armpit, raising his other hand with his claws, slashing the enemies' faces as they opened the door. As they screamed in pain, Wolverine felt a bit of contentment as they fell to the floor. Killing never felt all right but he knew he'd sleep all right at night. It should teach them not to interrupt while the enemy was stealing information about their plans.

When he got back to the battlefield, he saw that nothing really was out of the ordinary. He saw Peter, Storm and Kitty fighting together to beat off Mystique, Storm sent lightening at Mystique, Kitty lying almost beat up in the corner and Peter trying to keep Mystique away from her. Magneto and Xavier just stood in the middle, just looking at each other.

_Good time for a chat, _Logan snorted.

Then he looked more closely, searching for Bobby and Rogue. Then he saw to his horror how Bobby seemed to be outnumbered with Pyro and Rogue working together, trying to make the ice he'd made out of himself melt. Logan looked for a while, seeing different chances Bobby could've used to win this fight – but Bobby just sat there, defending himself.

The situation had finally broken Bobby.

---------

"Come on," Pyro laughed, "You aren't even trying _Iceman_," sending another ray of fire at him.

Joy filled him as he heard Rogue laugh with him. "We're trying to give you a fighting chance here, Bobby," she told Bobby with her strong accent, "But it doesn't do any good if you're just defending yourself."

Bobby's eyes attached itself to Rogue's and Pyro somehow knew exactly what he was thinking. _It talked like her, but it wasn't her._

Somehow that realization made Pyro only angrier. Sending more fire at Bobby. Then he felt something sharp hit in him the back and he let out a loud scream of pain, he could hear Rogue say something in the background, but it seemed as if all the sounds around him disappeared.

Now there was only him. And he was loosing.


	11. End Game

**Notes:** In this chapter, I'm using a theory of mine. Some of you might go a little "huh?" at it but just remember, it's my theory I got, so blame my brain. Let's see... Anything else you need to think about? Hmm. Not what I can guess. Oh, you know how I said the second part was gonna be WR? Well, scratch that ;) I rewrote the ending previously this week and later I found that it didn't fit. Anyway, enjoy reading, which is the most important thing, but if you have a little time over, I'd be thrilled to get a review.

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The sound of Magneto's young protégé screaming in pain interrupted him from fighting and Magneto twisted his head in the direction of sound, seeing Wolverine pull his claws out of his back. 

"No," Magneto whispered, looking at the sight, and then back Xavier, angry.

The casualties of war, Erik. It's never fair.

"Apparently I was wrong about you, Charles," Magneto spit out, "You have changed."

---------

Rogue looked as Rogue watched as Pyro crumpled to the ground, blood spilling from his wound."Pyro!"

She felt this rage within her bubbling up, her eyes trailing upwards, meeting Wolverine's. You fucking bastard!

The second it took for Wolverine to read the anger in Rogue's eyes, Rogue took full advantage. She kicked him in the groin, releasing Wolverine's claws from her own hands, whimpering slightly in pain before pushing them into his back, pressing all her force into the blow.

Then she retracted the claws, taking a step back. "Coward."

She waved her hand, using Magneto's powers to send Wolverine crashing into the wall behind him. Suddenly she felt something cold grip her throat.

"Don't do this, Rogue," she heard Bobby say in her ear, "this isn't you."

Rogue sighed, annoyed. "That's where you're wrong, Bobby," her whole body catching fire as she spoke, "this is me." She practically walked out of his grip, stopping a few feet away, turning around, the fire disappearing, "Next time, play within your own league."

-----------

Pyro looked up, seeing people move around him, but it was as if all the sound was gone. He knew it was there, he just didn't hear it. He coughed, feeling his lungs filling with blood. He saw in shock that blood ran down his cheek. Pyro looked up, hoping to see someone helping him, and his eyes connected with Bobby's. He smirked at him. You'll at least see my body this time.

Then Pyro drifted into a warm blackness, feeling no pain, only peace.

---------

Rogue watched as the colour drained from Pyro's face. Fucking idiot. She sighed, picking up Pyro, carrying him away from the action, noticing that neither Wolverine, nor Bobby followed her.

She put him on his bed in one of the rooms that were still protected from the fight. Rogue took her time, but not too much of it, knowing that the seconds were ticking away. She put her hand behind his head, raising his head up, focusing all her energies on healing him. It was a strange feeling. She was taking energy from him but at the same time, she was giving some of her powers to him. She smiled as she saw the cut start to heal.

As Pyro snapped his eyes open, Rogue let him go, watching as the shock of it all washed away from him. His eyes then connected to hers, looking partly scared and partly grateful.

"Welcome back," Rogue said, breathing heavily. This had certainly been something new.

"How'd you—" Pyro wondered, his eyes looking as if they were million miles away.

Rogue shrugged, feeling her energy levels return to normal. "I improvised." She grabbed his sleeve. "Now let's go."

---------

Magneto sighed with relief as he watched Rogue and Pyro come back, neither injured. He turned around, smiling at Charles as he heard the other man's thoughts.

Seems as if she's learned to control her abilities quite well, and some tricks of her own.

Magneto smirked. You only know half of it.

There was a crash and Magneto saw Charles look behind him, seeing that they were losing this battle.

When are you going to learn just to give up? You won't gain anything from this.

Charles looked at Magneto, before turning his back on him, walking to help Colossus and Kitty, who were losing against Mystique. Magneto sighed contentedly, knowing that this battle had been won. He looked to Pyro and Rogue, who were now watching as the X-Men retreated back to their jet.

Yes, this battle was done.

---------

"Fucking idiot," Pyro cursed as he rubbed his neck after the fight. "I mean, who does he think he is? Stabbing me in the back like that." He smirked as he got a glare from Rogue. "What? Are you offended that I'm talking crap about daddy dearest?"

Rogue snorted, pushing some of her hair behind her ear. "He's not my father. But without him, you wouldn't be standing here."

Pyro glared back, a slight feeling of jealousy growing inside of him. He didn't like the idea of Rogue not thinking about Wolverine as her father. Call him possessive. "Without him I wouldn't have been wounded in the first place."

Pyro hadn't said anything, but the fear he'd felt when he thought that he was going to die, it had been unlike anything he'd ever felt before. It hadn't been a kick; it hadn't been peaceful, nor had it been stressful. It was just like slipping into a black void, not being able to think or control yourself, slowly becoming unaware of his surroundings. He never wanted to feel like that again. Ever.

---------

Logan was breathing heavily as they all went back into the jet. He looked at the others. Kitty was unconscious, Peter looked as if he'd fall together on the spot, and Storm had her cuts and bruises but was okay concerning the circumstances. Xavier looked exactly like he had done before he went in there. Bobby looked as if he wasn't really there, but million miles away. He sighed, feeling the frustration wash over him again. He probably should try and talk to Bobby, but what would he say? He wasn't like Xavier, who knew exactly what Bobby felt. He bit his lip, sharing a look with Storm.

Logan handed the files he'd gathered to Xavier, who looked rather pleased as he looked at them. "This was what I managed to gather before I had some unexpected company. Hopefully it's something."

Xavier nodded. "Hopefully, it is."

Leaning back in his seat, he looked over at Bobby's direction again. The kid hadn't moved an inch, just continued to stare right ahead at some meaningless spot on the floor. Poor kid was in shock.

"Bobby, are you alright?" Storm asked, looking at the same direction as Logan, only much more concerned.

Bobby looked up, his eyes empty and without expression, not saying anything. Then, after what seemed like an eternity and a half, Bobby nodded slowly, uncertainly. But it was something.

---------

Days passed, Magneto rebuilt his headquarters, not at all worried that the X-Men might return. If they did, he would choose to welcome it. He had found a superior weapon in Rogue against them. She'd been among them, cherished and loved by them, and therefore just her mere presence made it difficult for at least the men to concentrate. Magneto sat by his desk and looked briefly at Pyro. Unfortunately she was having the same effect on some in his team as well.

Rogue didn't have much time left; Magneto knew that, perhaps not more than a few weeks. He wondered if he should share this with anyone, but decided not to. Pyro was fragile and Rogue would be angry. After all, he would be himself if it were him, and she had such a great part of him in her.

Magneto almost smiled at the thought as he looked through the remaining papers. He was aware that Charles had taken some, but that would only make it even more interesting. However, there were only a few of these people that Magneto wanted Rogue to absorb. She had so little energy left that could be used for greatness. He let her touch Pyro more because the damage had already been done, and the boy seemed to have found some sick fascination with her and her power.

His eyes stopped on one of the files, and Magneto felt an increasing joy spread through him as he glanced through the papers carefully. Finally, he seemed to have found something of interest.


	12. Where You Go When You Die

**Notes**: This chapter was short, but I hope just as good. Sorry it has taken me so long to give it to you but school keeps me superbusy. Huge love to a friend of mine who betad this for me and huge love to all of you who reads and hopefully are enjoying this story. The story is slowly coming to an end. Slowly being the operative word here. But we still have a bit to go and I hope you'll all keep reading. As always, feedback is love and appreciated but if you feel that you don't have the enegry or anything you'd like to share with me concerning the story, you don't have to. Reviews are completely by your own choice. Have a great day and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

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Rogue sighed, leaning back into the armchair in her 'room'. She could feel all these conflicting emotions inside of her, and yet it was as if she had this distance from them, like she wasn't the one experiencing them. She was torn between so much right now that she didn't even have the time to be angry anymore. X-Men or Brotherhood, Bobby or John, Log—Wolverine or Magneto. All these options and voices showed her different ways to go, different choices to make. She could hear Marie's voice in there somewhere. She could hear everyone's all the time and it _hurt_. 

Rogue closed her eyes. Why did it feel as if she was walking through a dream, one in which everything scared her? Every choice made her terrified, and she knew that something within her wasn't quite right. She knew she was dying, or that some part of her was.

She hated Marie, she hated everything she stood for, and yet she felt so familiar. Rogue knew that in truth, she wasn't real; knew that everyone else was aware of it too, but everything she did felt so real. Was it real, or was that made-up too? She didn't feel like Marie, and she rarely thought like her these days. So how could she be Marie deep down inside?

The blinding headache hit her again, the voices all screaming. Rogue gripped the armchair as strongly as she could, her knuckles whitening. It was as if she were mentally searching for a drill to put through her head, to relieve the pressure a bit, to make all the voices go away.  
The pain didn't stop though; it just kept on coming and coming, again and again. Rogue screamed. Tears flooded down her cheeks as she felt her surroundings fade away, and her strength slowly disappearing from her body to destinations unknown.

And she wondered:

_Where do you go when you die?_  
-------  
Pyro woke with a start as he heard Rogue scream from the room next to his. His blood froze as he heard that sound of desperation once again fill the bunker. She'd been screaming like this every night now, and Pyro thought he'd get used to it, but there was nothing to get used to; every attack was becoming increasingly worse.

Without thinking further, Pyro leapt up from his bed, running to Rogue's room, throwing open the door. His heart was pounding hard and fast in his chest, so it took him a while to calm down and process what he was seeing.

Rogue sat in her armchair, almost bent in two, crying and screaming in pain. Pyro slowly touched the white strand of hair, softly and carefully as if she were made out of glass. Rogue continued sobbing, and he could feel that the hair had become damp from her tears. He swallowed, trying to suppress his own emotions. He wanted her to care for him, he really did, but he knew that as soon as they'd figured out how to remove these voices, Rogue wouldn't return his feelings. Not that she did now, either.

To her, he was nobody. For the moment though, he honestly didn't care. She was someone to him, and that was all that mattered.

Rogue slowly lifted up her head, eyes red and her nose running unattractively. Her eyes were dim and disconnected as she looked at him, but in a moment they became a little bit clearer.  
He gently stroked her hair again, careful not to touch her skin, something that had once been his greatest desire, but had now become something insignificant to him. In his life, he'd cared about a few people, but his feelings for this girl in front of him – broken and emotionally bruised, someone who probably wouldn't normally give him the time of day – was something he couldn't quite identify. He didn't love her, he thought, but he cared for her. Caring could be enough, right? At least that was all he hoped for in return, even if he knew it would be a wish unfulfilled.

"Rogue…" Pyro managed to say, smiling slightly as her eyes focused more, "hey…"

Rogue bit her lip, her eyes constantly tearing up. "John," she whispered in a ghost like fashion, softly, and almost completely inaudible, "kill me."

John stared at her, and then relaxed some, stroking the back of her head as he shook his. "No. I can't kill you."

Marie nodded in understanding, but immediately broke into a new torrent of sobs, clutching Pyro's collar. She looked at him intensely, her words coming out in a whisper. "Help me, _please_…"

The light disappeared from her eyes, and Pyro thought for a moment that she would calm down, but then she collapsed, growing heavy in his arms as her head on his shoulder, slowly drifting into unconsciousness.

Pyro felt a tear run down his cheek as he tried to grasp the reality that was slowly drifting away to places he did not want to go. He slowly carried Marie's heavy body to her bed, tucking her in lovingly, making sure that she was at peace.

Pyro took a final glance at the exhausted girl on the bed. He knew he should tell Magneto, get her on her legs again, but he found himself, much to his horror, wishing that she were dead.

_Sweet dreams, Marie._

--------  
"Ma- Rogue is getting worse." Pyro swallowed, looking more dead than alive as he spoke to Magneto a few days later. "She still isn't awake."  
Magneto could smell the desperation in Pyro voice as easily as he could smell fear. It was almost amusing to see how far Pyro let his emotions carry him. What had once been his greatest strength had now become his own enemy.

"Tell me, Pyro," Magneto mused, getting up from behind his desk, "why do you care so much? Don't think I haven't seen the way you look at her." Pyro bent down his head in embarrassment. "I may be old, but I'm certainly not blind. Do you really think you can save her? Do you really think she'd give you the time of day, if this were under normal circumstances?"

Magneto passed behind Pyro, circling him as if he were studying an interesting specimen. "You are smart enough to know Pyro, that Rogue is a creature which you, despite your many talents, cannot touch – even if you wanted to."

Pyro looked up again, appearing indifferent as Magneto spoke. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it without a word passing his from lips. Magneto smiled. _Good Pyro, learn your place._

As the two talked, the elder man sharing his wisdom to the unwilling listener, behind closed doors, Mystique stood listening.

She turned away from the two, leaving them quietly behind as a tear fell down her cheek. Every emotion that she had believed to be frozen seemed to have melted as she realized that she wished for what she could never have. Erik was right; love was dangerous. Mystique cast a look towards Rogue's door.

And it made you do stupid things….


	13. Hold My Dying Hand

**Notes:** Ehm, I'm not dead ;) School's been going crazy and I'll start updating more now. I hope you're still reading and enjoying the story. Hmmm. I like this chapter and I hope you do as well. Feedback is gold but if you feel that there's nothing to say about the chapter/you don't feel like writing a review, that's fine :) I hope you'll enjoy the story.

* * *

"We have to do something!" Wolverine growled, not out of pain, but discontent over the decision that had just been reached without his knowledge. Who did they think they were?

"She doesn't have a lot of time, Logan," Xavier argued, "if she doesn't come to us willingly. We don't have the resources to go after her, as you have already discovered."

Logan turned around, looking for something to smash, but everything was already broken. He heard Xavier's words, but the logic or brain behind it he simply could not understand. He took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts to one goal. His head filled with anger again as he faced the man he had once called wise.

"We need to do something," Logan sighed, tired and angry. "We can't just expect her to come walking back in here in need of a cure, it's unreasonable."

Xavier nodded, pretending to give a notion of understanding. "Then we'll just have to pray for a miracle, won't we, Logan?"

Waiting and doing nothing would surely mean Marie's death, whether mental or physical. Logan waged war between his heart and mind as he stood there in front of Xavier, once again wondering if he should dismiss his advice. Last time he did that, he'd ended up killing Jean. He only wished that he would not have to do the same to Marie. She had the ability to make him feel more than the beast he really was, she made him feel like human and not just somebody's lab rat.

"Hopin' ain't good enough for me, Wheels," Logan snarled, remembering that nickname didn't work anymore, but it did prove a point. "You mess with peoples' heads, so make her come back."

Storm looked at him concerned, but Logan didn't care. It was an unreasonable situation with unreasonable outcomes and Logan waited for someone to speak, or utter words that would keep him from making an unwise decision. No reply came to stop him, so Logan did the only sensible thing he could think of. He threw his jacket over his shoulder, turned around and walked out of the office, set on making the same mistake twice: ignoring Xavier's warnings.  
----------

As Logan walked through the hallway, a body contact his own. The brief moment of contact sent Logan slightly backwards as he came face to face with Bobby, leaving what had been unofficially designated the hospital wing. Logan didn't know if it was a twist of fate, or if it were someone's sick idea of a joke because he hadn't seen Bobby for days—almost weeks—since the attack and with him showing up now, it was almost too good to be true.

"Hey kid," Logan said quietly, still feeling a bit unsure of how to address Bobby.

"Hey." Bobby replied as if he didn't care about Logan's existence. His eyes were angry and it seemed as if his whole body had become much more rigid. Usually Logan would put it down to being a trick of the mind, but that wasn't the case.

"How's... everything?" Logan tried the words, but they just didn't sound right.

Bobby started snort as he shifted his gaze to the wall on his left, before finally meeting Logan's gaze. "Okay, under the circumstances."

Logan shifted uncomfortably; he wished in that moment that he was a people person. He felt as if he was to blame for this whole thing. He didn't want to make the same mistake with Marie again, and even though Bobby's relationship with him was far from the one he shared with Marie, Logan couldn't help but feel responsible for the kid.

"Look, kid," he swallowed, feeling embarrassed about the situation, "if you ever need to talk about Ro—"

"I hate her," Bobby interrupted. His eyes were fierce, and his voice icy. "I hate her," he repeated, staring flatly into Logan's eyes.  
----------

After a few days, Rogue was back on her feet. She was rarely seen though, hardly coming out of her room. When she did socialize, she would interrupt herself in mid-sentences, or almost completely change personality. Even though no one said anything, Pyro knew that Rogue was beginning to fall apart. Her voice remained the same, but her eyes started to show a desperation and sadness, like she was a prisoner within her own mind.

Pyro knocked softly on Rogue's door. She'd missed lunch, again and she'd be no good if she didn't eat. No response came, so he knocked again. Again, there was no answer. A chill came over Pyro as he heard small whimpers from inside.

Pyro pushed the door open and stopped as he stared into the dim room. All the lights were off except for a small reading lamp that Rogue always kept lit by her head.

"Rogue," Pyro stepped inside, softly closing the door behind him, "are you asleep?"

As the door clicked shut, Pyro felt a pair of hands push him against the wall roughly. Rogue's nails cut into his skin, leaving marks through the fabric. Taken by surprise, Pyro didn't utter a word. Rogue froze mid-motion and Pyro noticed that her breathing was heavy, as if she'd just had one of her episodes. Then Rogue leaned in and kissed him fiercely and quickly. She kissed him again and again, and Pyro felt all the power drain within him. Both his head and his heart spun faster and faster, but for different reasons.

This was _wrong_, this was not right. It wasn't like it was _supposed_ to be.

Suddenly finding some inner strength, Pyro pushed Rogue away, gasping in surprise as he tried to catch his breath. "Wh—What the hell was that, Rogue?" Pyro finally breathed out, "Wh—What are you doing?"

Why hadn't he noticed that she was crying?

"Get it out!" Rogue cried, gripping her hair as if trying to tear out the pain. "I don't want it anymore! She can have it. She can have _me_. Just make it stop—make them stop. It's driving me insane, John! Get it out!"

Rogue's legs betrayed her as she slowly sank to the floor, her eyes and face red from crying. Tears ran down her cheeks and she shook from the force of her misery. She was whimpering incoherent words as she rocked back and forth with her hands on her head, face towards the ground.

Pyro stared at this broken form. This was the power, the key to their salvation according to Magneto; this broken, sweet girl who was about as harmless as a fly. He moved closer to her, reaching out a hand, his head filled with doubt and questions. Ethics and morals, rights and wrongs all battled with each other inside him.

Rogue looked up, gazing at him as if he was someone else, as if he were her salvation. The power in her gaze almost threw him backwards. No one had ever looked at him like that. No one had ever needed him. The thought scared him beyond words.

"Help me..." she pleaded weakly, a wish Pyro knew he would never be able to grant her, "please... John..."

John didn't notice that he cried too.

"John..." she continued, using the name that he hated, but didn't sound half bad coming from her. "I... _Don't listen_!" Her voice turned hard as she changed personality, but her face softened once more as she changed back. "Sh—She... just... one voice will do. Just give me one voice, John," she said weakly. "Just one. One power. One mind. Please... give me some peace of mind."

She reached out her hand, as if she were falling. Her face twisted in pain, the colour draining from it. All Pyro could do was stare at the hand. She wanted him to save her, but she'd chosen the wrong guy.

He didn't save people; he only hurt them.  
He wasn't the good guy.

As Pyro looked at her, his vision blurred as the tears ran down his cheek. He had never been so scared in his whole life. He saw a complete person breaking down in front of him. The persona that had risen from the wreckage of Marie—Rogue—was now also being shattered into something not even worthy of being called a life. He'd been told she'd be better this way, but now he felt all the hope and promise that he'd been filled with drain away.

"I..." Pyro started, still staring at that one hand reaching out to him. "I can't."

With the last of his self-restraint gone, Pyro walked out of the room, feeling like he would collapse if he reached his own room. Rogue sank into unconsciousness, without knowing if she would ever wake up again. She was no longer a person, merely a shell created to contain others' thoughts. Marie had been broken, and Rogue had been crushed. She'd been broken, for no reason at all.

He only hurt people.  
--------


	14. Point of No Return

**Note:** Yes, I know I've been a very bad writer. I've had the entire ending and all written, betad and everything but I hadn't really sent it out to you, lovely people, who read my fics (for which I'm greatly thankful for by the way) and I hope that you are continuing to read this story even though it's been practically forever since the last update. You see, I've had such a messy computer so I wasn't sure which of the versions the end was, but I'm going with this one (which is hopefully the betad version). Reviews are love and I'd adore if I could have your thoughts about how you want it to end (I've already written it but you know, I adore feedback) and I've been contemplating whether or not I should make a sequel (I have a few ideas mapped out). Would you be interested in reading it? If you want to write anything, you can always e-mail me, if you don't feel like commenting here. Anyway, I hope you all have a fantastic day and happy Easter to you all. Enjoy this chapter. hugs to you all

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Bobby watched in surprise as Wolverine passed him with nothing as much as a glance. Filled with anger Bobby walked in the opposite direction, feeling his blood boil. He had never thought that he'd ever hate Rogue, but he'd never thought she'd turn on them all either. He just wished he'd never met her at all. It hurt too much and it just wasn't worth it anymore. He'd thought it would be easy, that all this would end sometime but it just continued in a spiral of badness. There just weren't any end on anything anymore. 

He sighed, leaning back against a wall, suddenly drained of all energy. He probably should talk to Peter and Kitty, hear if they wanted to do something, but it just felt like no use. Suddenly Xavier stepped out from Cerebro, looking very grave. Xavier looked kindly at him as he spoke;

"Where's Logan?"

Bobby shrugged. "I just talked to him a few minutes ago. He should be somewhere in that direction," Pointing to the direction he'd just left.

"Cerebro just picked up a reading," Xavier told him gently, "Get Logan. We need to move quickly." Xaiver seemed to be calm but the stress in Xavier's voice almost made Bobby flinch.

Bobby heard him say it but all he could think of was Rogue, certain that this somehow involved her. He just couldn't move.

"Go!" Xavier raised his voice and Bobby finally tore away from his spot, running to get Wolverine before Xavier got even more furious at him. From the distance he could hear Xavier tell Storm; "We don't have much time..."

It seemed to Bobby as if once he'd started running it was impossible to stop, he ran as if he was running from death, searching for Wolverine. His mind became one track, if he thought any more of it, Bobby was afraid he would break. He was just so angry... and tired.

Once Bobby had run around the place eight times, he realized that Wolverine was nowhere to be found. Eventually, a few hours later, Xavier gathered everyone able to fight in his office, still a very low number, but it was better than before since Warren had returned from his vacation with his father and he was a slightly bigger help than some since he had some contacts that had made shipment of food easier without creating attention or questions.

"Cerebro picked up a reading," Xavier explained, "It's all very vague but it would appear as if we don't have much more time. Rogue's condition is worse than I anticipated-"

"Why would we help her?" Bobby found his mouth saying, feeling the anger he'd tried to hide bubble up to the surface again, his mouth moving on its own accord, "She hasn't done anything for us! She's with Magneto now so I think we should all stop pretending as if she's a part of our team because she isn't! She's the enemy now! She helped him burn the school down, for crying out loud!"

Storm looked slightly nauseous as if she saw a point in his speech that she was too afraid to admit, and Xavier calm, "I understand your anger, Bobby. But at this point she has very little control of herself, in fact - I believe no one has any control over her now. Cerebro made a reading on Pyro," he continued, turning to the rest of them, "And it seems as if he's trying to take Rogue to a hospital- It's all very blurry, I couldn't get an exact read-"

"Pyro wouldn't just betray Magneto," Kitty said, "Whatever he's doing; he's probably doing it on Magneto's orders."

"It seems highly unlikely," Xavier commented with a slight amusement hidden in his eye, "Because Logan's with him. At first, I thought I saw was wrong but hearing that Logan was missing-"

Bobby swallowed; he wanted no part in this mission whatsoever. Rogue didn't deserve their help - not after what she'd done to them. Somehow, against his will, his mind created an image of Pyro and Rogue standing together closely and he felt his hand tighten together to a fist.

The love he'd once had for her had turned to venom in his veins.

-----

"Move it, kid!" Wolverine growled, having one of his knives pointed against Pyro's neck and Marie's head on his lap as she slept, unknowingly of what was going on around her.

"You know," Pyro said dryly, not at all fearing Wolverine as he once had, "I helped you; I want her out of there as much as you do - so I'd appreciate it if you would stop treating me as the enemy."

"I don't trust you one bit, so therefore, as far as I'm concerned - you are the enemy." Logan's eyes drifted to Marie as she laid in the car, her breath almost not hearable, even for him. He was glad he'd done this. He didn't care if he was walking right into a trap, just as long as he could say that he'd tried everything in his power to help Marie. As far as he was concerned, he'd never been much of a team player, and never would be.

He looked back at Pyro, "Why you'd have such a sudden change of heart? Saving if you have one, I mean."

There was a pause from the front seat. "Because she asked me," he almost whispered as he drove up to the highway.

--------

Pyro felt sick as he sat there in the car. He didn't want to betray Magneto, he really didn't, but yet he sat there, driving Marie away to somewhere unknown. This madness had gone too far. It was eating him up inside, slowly, like an acid, burning him up inside. The entire situation had gone out of his control. So when Wolverine had showed up, threatening him to take Marie out, it had been a relief. He didn't have to make a choice - someone else made it for him.

Magneto would probably know by now, after all, he must've felt Wolverine coming miles away. The thought scared him, he felt dirty. Perhaps this had been some kind of test, and he'd failed miserably. Magneto had been the closest thing he'd had to a parent in a long time, and he'd just betrayed him.

He perhaps was evil. Dirty. Tainted. Everything was his fault.

-------

"They left the forest about six minutes ago," Mystique said, standing by the doorway, looking over at Erik, trying to read his thoughts. She'd known Pyro had been bad news from the start, but she'd kept her mouth shut.

Erik sat as he always did, by his desk, checking some files. He merely nodded as she informed him.

"Good," Magneto commented, turning a page.

"Excuse me?" Mystique felt an anger rise within her, not only because of Rogue's escape or of Pyro's betrayal, but many other things. His indifference annoyed her. "We've fought so hard to keep her here, and you think it's good that they got her? What about the plan?" Mystique bit her lip before she let the words 'What about us?' pass her lips.

Magneto looked up. "Rogue's mind is at best a vegetable - her mind was not as strong as I imagined. I'm quite disappointed, in fact. I'd expected more from her."

Mystique stared in disbelief at the man she had thought would give her everything - who would share the world with her.

How sadly she had mistaken herself. Great men never shared their dreams.

"But- Why all this trouble?"

Magneto sighed, walking up to her side, standing close to her left. "I confess that I've let my mind think too much of revenge these past few months rather than logic. I'm afraid her fate has very little logic and very little justice - but it was what had to be done to give me peace of mind. For them to pay from all the things they took from me."

Magneto's eyes connected with hers in a moment of understanding. How she wished that he spoke of her, but she knew better than that. But she couldn't bring herself to leave him. Not now. After all, she understood him.

---------

Pyro stopped the car, leaving Wolverine by the familiar forest that was located around the school, stopping at the darkest part he could find. No one could see them. Pyro guessed that at least a handful of the students, if not all of them, wanted his head served on a plate. Suddenly it struck Pyro that some might've died at the attack he'd been part of at the mansion.

A bit of his soul died that moment.

As Wolverine took out Marie from the backseat, Pyro looked at her sleeping form, stopping for a moment to look at her face, knowing very well that this could be the last time he ever saw her. Emotions were mixed; bitter and sweet all on the same time.

He'd had her around him for so long that he'd almost forgotten she belonged elsewhere.

The moment passed and he looked up, searching Wolverine's eyes for some kind of confirmation that she would be safe. It was difficult to read Wolverine's face, but when he found it, he looked at her again, only for a moment.

A decision was made.

"Don't," he said, "Don't tell her I helped you."

Without another word, he closed the door, turned the ignition key and drove away, leaving Rogue alone with Wolverine. As he drove, he realized it was all over for him now.

There was no coming back from this.


End file.
